Battle: Duro
by Lord Duro
Summary: General Grievous is about to launch his biggest campaign yet against the Core Worlds in the savage Clone Wars. The Republic-and a planet-will never be the same again. Fits in with established canon.
1. Chapter 1

_Duros System, Duro_

_Twenty-two months after the Battle of Geonosis; The Clone Wars_

_**Countdown: Operation Durge's Lance minus three days. **_

_Terrorism, _Aylee Atherton thought as she weaved in and out of the red ribbons of death caroming all around her, _Finally, something the Jedi are _meant _to fight. _

Her lightsaber lashed all around her, a green tornado of protective energy, deflecting and redirecting blaster bolts; sending some of them back to their attackers, sending most into the high walls of the lobby of the Duros Council Rotunda building.

She took a menacing step forward, a small smile on her face.

"_Stang!" _One of the Duros cried in frustration as he watched seven of his men fall to their own blaster bolts. "They really don't die!"

"Act of terrorism will not decide the Ruling Council's decision. It is—" She broke off as a shuddering of the Force warned her of danger above her. Not even glancing up, she somersaulted laterally in the air away from the danger zone.

Seconds later, a rocket launched from a shoulder-mounted launcher exploded in the place her body had been just moments ago.

Aylee hit the ground in a roll, coming to her feet with lightsaber blazing, batting back blaster bolts as she ran.

She hid behind a pillar and opened up her comm. "This is general Atherton requesting assistance in the lobby! My troops have been killed and I've been pinned down! Repeat: This is general Atherton requesting assistance in the main lobby!"

She heard a dull _SHWOOD _from the other side of the lobby, the slight whistling of a rocket, and with a warning from the Force and her instincts, she rolled away from the pillar.

The explosion knocked her senseless for a moment and the ringing in her head drowned out all other noises of battle.

Dust clogged her vision, making it impossible to see out of the cloud and into it, which was good and bad. It meant that she could not see her attackers, but they could also not see her.

Well, she couldn't see them physically. She had the Force.

She reached out with her senses, and discovered two angry presences coming up from either side of the cloud, with watchful eyes from the lobby floor to the second floor above it on the cloud as well.

Damn. She couldn't make a run for it, she would be shot down, no matter her skill with a blade. Blaster bolts began sizzling through the cloud, some of them narrowly missing her.

She muttered a curse and opened her comm. "This is general Atherton. Someone please hurry."

Noona Qolid hurried, alright.

Master Atherton needed her.

Noona's lightsaber was in hand and lit already as she and the two and a half dozen clone troopers she led made their way to the corridor.

"Master Atherton," Noona said into her comm, "Padawan Qolid here. What's the situation?"

Alee's voice returned scratchy over the comm unit. "_The situation's bad. These locals somehow managed to take down a full platoon of fully-trained clone troopers. If they're not all dead, they're hunkered down somewhere in this mess. The good news is, we've also got the terrorists kept at bay. For now, at least. Hurry." _

Noona nodded. "We'll be there as soon as we—"

A booming _WHOOMP _shook the Rotunda. Noona was thrown into the wall. "What was that?" She cried, her webbed hands holding herself erect as she swiveled her large, Mon Calamarian eyes to the communications chief behind her.

The comm specialist hurried to her. "The terrorists have highjacked numerous freighters in the airtraffic above the Rotunda, sir. They've just flown one of them into the building."

"My stars," Noona gasped. "They truly do not want the Duros Council to sign over to full Republic protection, do they?"

"The Duros are a proud people, sir," the trooper replied.

"Perhaps a bit too proud. How many people were hurt?"

The trooper cocked his head, listening to something in his helmet. "Minimum casualties. They thankfully hit a sparsely populated area."

"Good," Noona said. They continued on their way. Noona closed down her lightsaber. It would be most unfortunate if another explosion like that knocked her off her balance and impaled one of her troopers on accident.

Another explosion rocked the building. "Dammit!" Noona screamed. This time everyone in the corridor was thrown to the ground.

Noona opened up her comm, only this time on a different frequency. "Captain Nevil, now is the time!"


	2. Chapter 2

Beneath the Rotunda, and several hundreds meters to the east, Captain Nevil grinned in anticipation. "Yes ma'am," he said. He turned to his crew.

"Open bay doors, raise shields!"

Through the ceiling above him, hidden hangar bay doors begin to pull back from each other, as if they were two wrong ends of a magnet.

The bay doors were in the no-pedestrian zone that ran for a kilometer or so in diameter around the Rotunda when important meetings like this took place, so they did not have to worry about anyone falling in.

"Fire repulsorlifts."

"Firing repulsorlifts, sir," came his helmsman.

"Bring us up," Nevil ordered, and executed a turn so that he faced the viewscreen.

The Dreadnaught-class Heavy Cruiser _Prominence _rose almost majestically from its berth, and any onlookers were sure to be shocked to see the massive, six-hundred meter-long capital ship rise from its previously unknown hiding place.

The terrorists flying the rogue freighters sure were.

"Target any and all civilian vessels making attack runs on the Rotunda," Nevil said in a clipped, military voice.

The Duro starfighters had been doing a decent job of keeping the rogue freighters back, but the with the power of a fully armed capital ship backing them, not only would they intercept and destroy the terrorist vessel more easily, seeing the tube-like, weapons-blistered Dreadnaught would surely deter anymore of the radicals from making their suicide runs.

The ship shuddered slightly as its bow turbolasers opened up with a powerful volley, instantly incinerating two of the kamikazes as they made their runs.

"There are more people behind this than I thought," Nevil said thoughtfully. "There at least thirty ships out there trying to collide with the Rotunda."

"It's madness," said Rikil, his executive officer. She turned her eyes on him. "I thought the Duro were a proud people. Would they stoop to such measures?"

Nevil sneered. "I sincerely doubt it. My bet is, the Confederacy has something to do with this. If Duro falls, the path to the Core worlds is pretty much paved."

Three more freighters were blasted out of the sky. "Sir, incoming comm for you," said his comm officer.

"Put it through."

"_Heya _Prominence, _this is Wing Commander Dunton here. Just wanted to say thanks for the help. Things were heating up out here, and some of these freighters are equipped with air-to-air weapons." _

"Glad to be of service, Commander," Nevil replied. "Let's blast these extremist to all the hells there ever were." Nevil didn't even want to think about the collateral damage that had been caused here today. Who knew how many civilians had been hurt in the terrorists' opening assault on the Rotunda.

"_Yessir. Dunton out." _

Nevil ordered the helmsman to take up a position above the Rotunda. Not only would it allow the turbolasers on all sides of the Dreadnaught to take out any of the rogue freighters with ease, it also showed dominance over the building. _If you want to attack this place, you're going to have to go through us first. _

"Captain, it appears all terrorist-controlled ships are veering off. Rotunda starfighters are pursuing."

Nevil nodded approvingly. "Excellent. How goes the ground battle?"

His comm officer glanced back at his board, his mouth set in a grim line. "The extremists have taken the main lobby and are effectively holding off our troopers."

Nevil swore. "We should have dealt with them as soon as they entered the no-pedestrian and -flying zones."

Rikil glanced at him. "The transport they were flying was too fast. By the time our fighters caught up to them, the had already unloaded and were assaulting the building." Nevil closed his eyes and took a calming breath. "Right. Damn. How many people were killed in the initial assault, you think?" He meant the question rhetorically. He turned to the comm officer. "Launch our starfighters. I want them running perimeter guard while the Rotunda fighters take care of those fleeing separatists."

"Launching fighters."

Twelve of the _Prominence'_s compliment V-19 Torrent fighters blasted out of the Dreadnaught's hangar bay. "I want the clone trooper contingent we have aboard on the gunship we have in the bay. As soon as they're aboard, they have permission to launch. They're going to need all the help they can get down there."

Noona and her troops came upon the lobby tentatively. Blaster fire could be heard on the other side of the blast doors along with loud explosions. She turned to the slicer of the group. "I want those doors open, now."

The only reason the extremist group hadn't been able to get further into the Rotunda was because of said blast doors, which had locked off the lobby from the rest of the building.

Her slicer ran forward, tapping the touchscreen on his datapad. He pulled a wire from the top of the 'pad and connected it to the locking mechanism.

"Come on, come on," Noona whispered.

Aylee Atherton crouched low in the dust cloud, trying to keep the cloud together with the Force. Blaster bolts—coming in by the dozens, now—whizzed by her head. She kept her lightsaber off so her attacks would not be able to pinpoint her location more clearly.

She'd have to move soon, though, before one of them got bold enough to enter the dust cloud. Already, one of them had shouted to another that she was most likely dead.

A sudden idea struck her. Reaching into the Force, she levitated her lightsaber. She stared at it for a moment, and then jerked her head sharply to the right.

The lightsaber shot forward and down, skimming the ground. Aylee's eyes squeezed shut, guiding the lightsaber all while ducking and dodging blaster bolts.

The blade shot between her attacker's legs, its presence going unnoticed as the men concentrated on finding and killing the Jedi.

She sensed the nearest wall and made the lightsaber move towards it. She hoped against hope that there was her blade was in a deep shadow. Then, with a slight intake of breath, she turned the blade on.

The distinctive _vvvvzzzuuuummm _of the blade turning on could clearly be heard over the loud shouts and blaster fire. Cries of alarm and shock resounded out as the men took note of the sudden turn of events, and all fire into the dust cloud stopped. Aylee grinned triumphantly.

There was a lull in the weapons fire, and then the _pow-pow _started up again, this time in the direction of her blade.

Aylee flew from her hiding place, using the Force to enhance her speed. She made it across the room and into a deep shadow behind a pillar without any of the terrorists noticing. Luckily, her blade was on the opposite side of where she was hiding now, so the men's attention was drawn to where she _wasn't. _

She turned her blade off and shot it behind a pillar. More shouts and cries.

She made the blade skim the pillar and make its way along the ceiling to her. She caught it deftly in her hand and allowed herself a small chuckle.

"Where is she?" One of the men cried. By then the dust cloud had dissipated, and the radicals were highly dismayed to find both her and the lightsaber had disappeared.

Suddenly, the blast door immediately to her right hissed open. Her blade was on and in a defensive position before she could take a breath.

A pause.

Then a Mon Calamari stuck her head out, looking to the right, then left, and spotted Aylee.

"Master Atherton!" Noona gasped as she ran out the door. Clone troopers filed out and immediately began taking up firing positions.

"Noona," Aylee breathed in relief. She laid a hand on her Padawan's shoulder as came up to her. "You've no idea how glad I am to see you."

Their warm greeting was cut short as a blaster bolt shot into the wall a meter above Aylee's head.

Noona's silver-blue blade sprung to life and provided a sharp contrast to Aylee's dark green blade, her Mon Calamari apprentice batting away a stray bolt.

The sharp staccato of military-issue blaster rifles retorted as the clone troopers returned fire, taking out three of the astonished zealots.

Orders were called as the terrorists—Aylee made it a point to figure out what their group's name was—fell back and regrouped.

"Shall we?" Aylee asked Noona.

The other nodded. "We shall."

The two Jedi sprang from their hiding place and headlong into battle.

The battle was quickly over as the two angry Jedi, their clone troopers, and a batch of new troops newly arrived in a gunship made quick work of the caught off-guard extremists.

Three more Republic gunships landed outside the lobby doors. A fresh platoon of troops trotted in, securing the area.

"How in the hell did they get in here?" Aylee snarled. "This is supposed to be a heavily secured and fortified base. How did a bunch of half-witted terrorists get by the guards stationed outside?"

A clone intelligence operative suddenly appeared beside Aylee, taking off his helmet. "We're working on that at this very moment, Master Atherton. What we've gathered so far, is that this definitely wasn't a bunch of half-wits. This is the work of a highly-organized, highly-trained militia group that the Duros government failed to let the Republic delegates in on. They apparently used to be highly trained Duros special-ops forces."

"We've been here for months, Agent Valiant. Why haven't we heard of or seen this group before?"

"The group has had little to no reason to surface. The Republic has held the Duros system for generations, but the Duro have done their best to keep this little group under wraps. They apparently only come out when drastic changes to the Duros government and people are being made."

Aylee bit her lip. "Like allowing the Republic to take full command of their space- and ground-defensive capabilities," she said, referring to the meeting between the Republic delegates and the Duro government officials taking place in the upper levels of the Rotunda.

Valiant nodded. "Exactly. Prior to this, the Duros military and counter-terrorist organizations have managed to keep a tight lid on their little secret. How the terrorist group actually got past the guards and lead a major assault on the building is beyond me at this point. But our men will figure it out."

Aylee sighed deeply. So much loss of life. And all the Republic was trying to do was protect the Duro citizens. "What is the name of this group?"

Valiant glanced at a date-pad. "They're called the Trehalt Allegiance. Their MO is to protect and defend the Duros civilization."

Aylee's mood soured further. "How dare they have the gall to name their little group after one of the most respected members of Duro history? Especially when they shed needless blood!"

Valiant shrugged and shook his head. His comlink beeped. He glanced at it, grabbed it off his belt, and told Aylee that he'd let her know as soon as they had information, walking off to take his call.

Noona and Aylee turned and walked in the opposite direction, toward a turbolift. "The Confederacy has something to do with it, Master," Noona opined. "Highly-trained militia force or not, they still got past three AT-TE's and three platoon on the outside, and two platoons on the inside. And they almost killed _you, _Master." Aylee nodded in agreement. "There are many things unclear at this point. The Confederacy being behind it seems like the most valid right now."

"You think they'll make a push for the Core?" Noona asked. Aylee looked at her Mon Calamarian apprentice. She looked worried.

"If they were, Duro would be the first place to conquer."

Noona blinked, her eye-lids moving rapidly over her bulging, globe-shaped eyeballs. "The very thought of it is frightening. An attack on the Core."

"We live in scary times, Noona. We must put our faith in the Republic and the Force."

They entered the lift with two clone troopers in tow. "For now, though," Aylee said as the lift started up, "I want to move the delegates from each side to the orbital city."

"Jyvus?" Noona asked, surprised.

Aylee nodded. "We thought this place would be the most secure on the planet. It wasn't. So, we are going to have to go off-planet, to the Space City."

Jyvus Space City was the largest of the three Space Cities orbiting the planet, and the most well-defended. Moving the meeting there would ensure quick-evacuation if any more Allegiance assaults took place, and give Aylee peace of mind that the delegates were safe and protected up in the sky while she hunted down the organization down here planet-side.

"I'd have preferred to put them on a Star Destroyer," Aylee said seriously. "But we have to make sure they feel safe, and clear-headed. Put them on a Star Destroyer with maximum security, they'll be too paranoid to think straight."

Noona smiled. "A Star Destroyer will be orbiting the City, right?"

"Of course. I want you to go up with the delegates, Noona. Having a Jedi with them will make them feel even safer, I'm sure."

The lift stopped, and they filed out. "But Master, I'm but a Padawan!" She protested. Though truthfully, she was deeply proud that her master that her ready to take on such a large responsibility. Aylee shot her a look. "Are you saying you're not ready for this?"

Noona almost jumped in her protest, "No! No, Master, I assure I'm _ready. _What I meant was, that the delegates may not feel as safe with only a Padawan protecting them. They may even find it insulting. The Duros delegates may be lead to think that we don't think them important enough for a full Jedi Master to protect them. So for them to see me, obviously a Padawan, as their Jedi protector, that may make them resent the Republic and deter them from letting the Republic take full control of their defenses."

Aylee looked at Noona, mouth open. "How very insightful, my Padawan," Aylee said proudly. Noona felt herself blush, a greenish tinge coming to her usually salmon-colored skin tone.

"Thank you, Master."

Aylee swept her dark-brown bangs back from her angular face. "I will give thought to what you have said. First, I'll see what our representatives have to say about the delegates' attitudes, see if they would take offense to such a thing."

"Perhaps if you make it clear to them that you will be dirt-side looking for the people that causes them to relocate to Jyvus, they wouldn't take offense to only me being their protector."

Aylee beamed at Noona. "You are on the fast-track to becoming a Jedi Knight, Noona. I mean that."

Noona smiled back, her fishy lips pulling back into what a human would take for a grin. Before they reached the meeting chambers, they bowed to one another, and entered the chamber.

"Master," Noona whispered to Aylee as they entered the medium-sized chamber, "I much prefer fighting countless droid armies to navigating politics."

Aylee hid her chuckled in a cough. "Me to, Noona. Me too."

The chamber wasn't too ordinate. Hand-crafted wood lined the ceiling and floor, with plush gray carpeting covering the floor. The intricate, inverted "U" that the Republic ambassadors and Duros delegates were seated at was the most elaborate thing in the room.

"Master Jedi," said Republic Ambassador Dictio L'varren of Alderaan as the two Jedi entered the room. He bowed deeply. "Your bravery is highly praised and appreciated." Murmurs of agreement

from the other ambassadors and delegates.

The Duro Chief Representative Officer—the equivalent to a Chancellor—Hoolidan Keggle rose and bowed to Aylee, his red eyes gleaming. Aylee and Noona bowed deeper in return. "I commend you both for your outstanding actions and bravery. You have my deepest appreciation," he said, his green skin color flushing to greenish-yellow.

Aylee smiled at the Duro. "Chief Keggle, I was simply doing my duty. But my Padawan and I thank you for your commendation." Noona nodded in agreement.

Keggle smiled at them both. Dictio L'varren clapped his hands lightly and rubbed them together. "So, Master Atherton, what next?"

"I'd like to move you all to Jyvus Space City as soon as possible, sirs."

Dictio pursed his lips. "Do you think it necessary?"

"I think so. We thought the Rotunda to be the safest place on the planet, and it was breached. So, my next option is to move you to Jyvus."

Keggle nodded his agreement. "Sound reasoning, Master Jedi. My associates and I will be ready to leave whenever you'd like us to."

Aylee smiled. "If you would make your way to the main hangar bay, my troops will escort you." Keggle nodded, and he and the other three Duros delegates left the room, clone troopers ahead and behind them.

Dictio's calm demeanor deteriorated instantly, and like a storm cloud his features darkened. "A full battalion, Master Atherton. We had a full battalion guarding this Rotunda, not to mention the guards stationed her already. That's little more than fifteen-hundred troops, including _two _Jedi. Do you want to tell me _how _in the _nine hells of Corellia _a local _militia group _breached one of _the _most highly guarded places on the planet?" Dictio's voice had risen to a yell by this point, his face red. Before Aylee could reply, he continued on. "Do you realize this could have cost us the entire negotiation?"

Noona said quietly, "Chief Representative Keggle seemed rather understanding to me."

Dictio jabbed a finger at her. "I was _not _speaking to you, Padawan." He turned his glare back on Aylee.

Aylee held his gaze as she struggled to keep her calm. "I know about as much as you do at this point, Ambassador. But this wasn't just some "local militia" group. They were highly-trained Duros former-special forces, and our men were caught completely off-guard. We were not expecting a threat of this magnitude."

"Whether you were expecting it or not, a full clone battalion couldn't handle them. What do you think this shows the Duros government? 'That Republic can't even take handle a terrorist group, and we expect them to defend the entire _system_?'" Dictio ran a hand over his face. "We must me the laughing-stalk of the entire Duros government right now!"

Aylee knew she had to let the man vent his anger now, so he would have a clear head later on during the resuming of the meetings, but she couldn't help feel angry in return of his unfair judgment. "My apologies, Ambassador."

Dictio rolled his eyes. "Not accepted, Master Atherton. Not accepted."

With that, he swept past her with his aides and other Republic ambassadors, none of them meeting her eye. Never before had they seen a Jedi Master treated with so much disrespect.

Noona looked at Aylee in shock. "Master, how could you let that blubbering idiot speak to you like that?"

Aylee looked at her. "Ambassador L'varren is not an idiot, Noona, in fact, he is one of the most brilliant men and politicians I know, and an honest one at that. An honest politician is hard to come by nowadays, I assure you. I let him speak to me like that because Dictio needed to blow off steam and make his points known."

"But it was disrespectful," Noona repeated.

Aylee smiled. "One thing people misunderstand is that while Jedi deserve a measure of respect—about as much as a clone trooper, if anything—we are not above the people of the Republic. We are servants, and protectors, yes, but we are also people. People like Dictio L'varren. And at times, people must blow off steam and yell. And I, like a normal person, took it. I think that was the best thing I could have done for Ambassador L'varren right then."

Aylee smiled at Noona. "Remember, Noona, we are not gods. We are just people with god-like abilities." Aylee winked and the two of them laughed lightly.

"I'll remember that, Master. Thank you."

"You'd better get going," Aylee said after a companionable pause. "I'll come with you, and explain my staying here to the Duros."

The two Jedi walked out, the last of the clone troopers following them.


	3. Chapter 3

Republic HoloNet News reporter Jez Debalto came upon the scene at the Rotunda with, like everyone else, shock.

The area outside the Rotunda was littered with bodies of dead clones and Allegiance members alike, and the broken, smoking shells of AT-TE walkers added to the severity of the situation.

"All right, let's do this," Jez growled to Tip, his Chadra-Fan cameraman. Though the rodent-like alien stood only a meter tall, the camera he lugged around had a built in repulsorlift, so that it hovered during news-broadcasts. Tip controlled the camera with a small datapad during filming.

Jez blinked rapidly a few times, opened and closed his mouth widely, making little groaning sounds. His face settled back into its passive look abruptly. "How do I look?" he asked Tip. Tip gave him a thumbs-up, slight shifting the camera with a tap on his 'pad.

"We're rolling live in three, two..." Tip gave him a finger-pistol gesture, indicating Jez was on-air.

"Thank you, Thom. The atmosphere here on Duro is one of fear, ladies and gentlemen, as disaster-response units and clone troopers attempt to regain order in the capital city of Ranadaast. The group taking responsibility for the terrorist attacks that took place earlier today have identified themselves as the Trehalt Allegiance, a throwback to an ancient benign Duros leader, Rana Mas Trehalt. At this moment we're not sure how far the extremist group got into the building, but reports do indicate that the Duros Chief Representative, his staff, and the Republic ambassadors are alive and well.

"Perhaps the most disturbing of the attacks today are the freighters and passenger ships that were taken over by the terrorists, and then flow right into the Rotunda. The death estimate of citizens numbers in the hundreds. One thing is for sure, the Republic and Duros government will not allow these war crimes to go unpunished. A large task-force has already been created consisting of intelligence agents from both the Republic and Duro law-enforcement agencies."

Jez took a pause to swallow as Thom asked him, "_Do you think the Confederacy of Independent Systems could have had anything to do with today's terrorist attacks, Jez?_"

Jez nodded solemnly. "I think the Separatists could most likely have been behind this, Thom, seeing as this group's sudden reemergence coincides with a decision that could bring the CIS's movement into the Core Worlds to a sudden halt. Separatist General Grievous has certainly pulled off more cunning schemes than this. As you stated this morning Coruscant-time, Thom, the Republic would do well to send out an extra Star Destroyer or two. Who knows what could happen next."

Then Jez's time on-air was up, and the red light on Tip's camera went out. "How was that?" Jez asked.

Tip wiggled his nose at him, the equivalent to a human giving an exasperated breath. "You're not looking to make any friends in the Republic military, are you?"

Jez shrugged. "Why would I have any need for military friends? Besides, my report was completely objective."

Tip lolled his head from side-to-side, the equivalent to rolling his eyes. "Quote-unquote, 'the Republic would do well to send an extra Star Destroyer or two.' You'll cause dissent, Jez."

"First of all," Jez said as they started walking to the Rotunda, "I was quoting Thom. He's the risk-taker."

Tip interrupted him, "Right, and that surely caused an uproar this morning. The Chancellor's Office probably had a panic attack when they heard those words. And now, you brought them right back up again right when the Chancellor's Office calmed everyone down. Saying we need an extra warship out here is basically saying, 'Send more ships, because a Confederacy attack is imminent.' But hey, you're Risk-taker Jez. The public _loves _you for the daring things you and Thom say."

"Well," Jez said, slightly miffed, "an attack could be imminent. People should know and realize that."

Tip groaned. "But people don't want to _know _that. They think the Clone Wars is a fight for the Outer- and Inner-Rims. They want to feel _safe _in the Core. This is the Core, they tell themselves, nothing can hurt us here. Also, a Confederacy attack on Duro—or the Core at all, for that matter—is purely speculative. If it wasn't, there'd be a massive _fleet _of Star Destroyers waiting here for them."

Jez rolled his eyes. "We just did a report last week on how far spread the Republic Navy is across the galaxy. There won't be any fleet of Star Destroyers coming to Duro's rescue."

Tip wiggled his nose. "You are missing my point." Tip smacked his fur-covered forehead as if suddenly remembering something. "And what's with mentioning Grievous? By the Force, man, are you trying to cause a public panic? If people even _suspect _that abomination is planning to initiate an invasion of the Core Worlds, panic _will _ensue!"

Jez gave Tip a skeptical glance. "You sound like one of those guys on those weekly HoloNet shows that have those philosophical debates about the Wars."

Tip shook his head. "No, I'm just a person who wants to keep his _job."_

"Relax," Jez told him. "No one's losing their jobs. We're reporters. The media. We're _supposed _to be a thorn in the government's side."

Tip snorted.

They showed the clone troopers guarding the entrance way their media badges. The trooper shoko his head, "Sorry, sir, no one visitors at this time."

Jez's brow furrowed. "You're joking."

"Believe me when I tell you I'm being completely serious, sir."

"The biggest terrorist attack since the assassination attempt on Padmè Amidala just happened, and you're not going to let a dignified reporter in?"

The trooper nodded, not saying a word.

Jez blew out his breath. "You've gotta let me in there. I need to report on this!"

"You can do that just as well from the outside of the Rotunda building, sir."

Jez wanted to argue further, but the clone had a point. Jez caught himself as he designated the other as "clone." True, he was a clone, but many found the term to be prejudiced, or even racist. He was a clone and a man, just as Jez was a reporter and a man. Jez nodded to the trooper, thanked him for his time, and retreated with Tip to their earlier position.

"What now, boss-man?" Tip asked him. Jez surveyed the destruction outside the Rotunda, watching the cleaning crews and troopers put dead bodies into the back of emergency-response vehicles.

"Get some shots of the carnage down here, then we'll get into an air-speeder and get some shots of the Rotunda from the sky. Then we'll call it a day, I guess. I'd have liked to have gotten some shots on the inside, maybe interviewed an ambassador, but we can do that tomorrow."

Tip nodded, started up his camera, and began rolling.

"_Jez," _came his name over the miniature comm-link in his ear that let him and the HoloNet stations communicate.

"What's up?" he asked, touching the device lightly to hear better. He face away from Tip and walked a few paces.

"_They're moving the meeting to Jyvus City," _said his supervisor.

"_What?" _Jez hissed. "Do they think the threat is that valid?"

"_Beats me. But you get your ass into a shuttle and beat them to the hangar bay, get a vid of them debarking." _

"Yes sir," Jez replied, already retrieving Tip. He tapped the Chadra-Fan on the shoulder and gestured eradicate for the alien to follow him. "Won't they have the docking bay sealed off specifically for their arrival?"

"_Yes, that's why I want you to hurry, get into a different bay in the city and haul ass to their bay as fast as you can." _

"Got it, we won't let you down."

"_Damn right you won't. And good piece you did, I liked it. You'll have Chancellor's Office sweating bullets when they start getting inquiries as to exactly _why _they can't send more ships to protect Duro." _

Jez felt a little bit of guilt settle inside him, and an inkling of what Tip had been saying to him came to mind. "Maybe we didn't convey the right message. Do we really want to people of the Republic to panic, make them think there aren't enough ships to protect every planet in the Core?"

"_Panic means ratings. And besides, the Republic will win the war anyway, everyone knows that. The worst action Duro will see is the terrorist attacks today. Now just get those shots, Jez, and you get your pay-check. Tipolski out." _

Jez grinned. Yeah, the Republic would win the war. And the Confederacy, even the feared General Grievous, didn't have the nerve to try and invade the Core. Jez was sure of it.

_**Author's Note: General Grievous is in the very next chapter, all, I promise. I just wanted to do a little suspense-building. Something big is coming, and I really want it tangible. Remember to R&R! Thanks!**_


	4. Chapter 4

General Grievous was sure taking the Core would be quite simple.

The weak-minded simpletons of the Republic were _so_ sure the CIS would never attempt such a bold move into the Core Worlds, and therein lay their downfall.

By lulling themselves into a false security like they did, not only would they not be suspecting an attack, they would be unprepared for it.

Oh sure, the Chancellor's Office would sent fleets and fleets of warships out to protect the outlying Core Worlds from invasion, but no one really _believed _the Confederacy had the guts to initiate one.

They were dead wrong.

If Grievous could smile, he would. He folded his metal hands behind his back instead, and stood to his full two-point-one meter height and looked out the bridge of his flagship at the stars, as if daring the Republic to make a move.

He'd make them pay for that terrible loss at Nadiem. He'd make them pay for _everything. _

"General," came the metallic voice of a droid stationed at Sensors, "The First Fleet has confirmed that all elements of their forces have checked in, and they are ready to jump to initiate lightspeed at your order."

"Order Commander Lot he may jump when ready."

The droid relayed the order, and just like that, the Fall of Duro was set in motion.

It was a simple plan, really. The combined forces of the First and Third Fleets of the Confederate Navy would initiate a pincer-squeeze tactic, trapping the planet and its forces in the cross-hairs of the armada.

The First Fleet would appear on the far side of the planet from Yag'Dhul side, while the Third fleet would come in from the Thyferra side, where Grievous and his forces was stationed now.

Then, the plan of attack would be to slowly merge the fleets, all the while destroying any Republic opposition caught in the middle.

Operation Durge's Lance, he'd named the op. It began the Confederacy's push into the Core, and the name was in honor of the bounty hunter Durge and the part he'd played in the Battle of Muunilist.

"How have the initial stages of the operation gone planet-side?" he asked an intelligence agent. The Devaronian smiled, making his already devilish appearance look positively menacing. "Our operatives have played the Trehalt Allegiance into our hand, General. The fool who leads them has been lead to believe that giving over their defenses to the Republic would be a most unwise decision indeed."

"They attacked the Rotunda, then?"

"Oh yes, sir. Nearly a thousand clones were slaughtered, and any suspicions that Republic may have had about an external threat from the CIS has now been turned inwards, and the forces there have been thrown into chaos."

"Excellent," Grievous intoned. "Count Dooku will be most pleased. Report to him at once."

The Devaronian nodded, and Grievous dismissed him.

He strode to his command chair. "Order the _Defiant _and the _Inherent _to come up on the _Hand_'s flank."

The reason for that was that the two other _Providence-_class destroyers were the only ships large enough to provide efficient cover-fire for the _Invisible Hand, _Grievous' flagship, a much larger and heavily modified _Providence _destroyer.

The comm officer relayed the order, and the other ships began to fall into position. "Any other orders for the rest of the fleet, General?"

He thought a moment. They would have to come out of lightspeed at least once along the way at a via point to Duro, for very few hyperspace lanes were direct routes from one point to another, and in order to reposition the Third Fleet—the elements which Grievous commanded here at Thyferra—into a better offense force.

"No. Bring the ship about," he ordered instead. "Send out a communique to the fleet, tell them to begin forming up for lightspeed. We jump to hyperspace in two hours."

Grievous paused a moment as he felt his heart beating inside his armored chest, a small thing he did every time he needed focus or calm. It assured him that a small part of him was still organic, still alive, and still part of the fearsome warrior he used to be before the accident that put him in this cursed robotic replacement.

_Ready or not, Duro, here we come. _

In all honesty, he actually hated the Duros species on a whole. The high-and-mighty Neimoidian off-shoots were always claiming their species discovered space-travel before all other species, as if that entitled them to something.

_A good slamming, perhaps. _

_Yes, a good orbital slamming indeed. _


	5. Chapter 5

_**Countdown: T-Minus two days to Operation Durge's Lance. **_

Noona ran a webbed hand wearily over her face as the shuttle initiated its final docking sequence. It had certainly been a long day, and taking five hours to secure a clear path to Jyvus City certainly had not relieved any stress. The skies had been so clogged with emergency-response vessels and panicked citizens, it had taken that long to get a clear and secure passage.

It was about midnight when they finally cleared planetary orbit, and it took another half-hour to secure a clear docking bay.

At first, Noona had been honored Master Atherton had entrusted her with this mission.

Now she just wanted it over and done with.

As the armored shuttle passed through the magnetic shield, Noona headed forward to the cockpit, feeling she should get a good look at the hangar bay. She'd also be sure to do a thorough sweep of the bay before letting the ambassador and delegates off-ship.

They'd thought the Rotunda was the safest place planet-side—and it wasn't. This was apparently the safest place in orbit, and they couldn't take chances.

The ship spun slightly so the landing ramp would face the exit. The shuttle's escort fighters landed on either side of it, their clone pilots jumping out and joining the security contingent guarding the exits.

"Lower the ramp," Noona said and strode aft. The politicians looked at her expectantly from the lounge. She gestured for them to remain seated. "Please stay here, sirs. Once we properly secure the bay, then it shall be safe for you to debark."

"Young lady, we have been cooped up in this shuttle for almost six hours!" Exclaimed one of Hoolidan Keggle's aides. "The Chief Representative needs to his rest! You can't keep the most powerful man on Duro in this-"

Noona cut him off, pulling her fishy lips up in a human smile. "Mister Rasperton, I greatly appreciate what Chief Keggle and his staff have been through today, and believe me, no one wants it to be over more than I do. But these extra security measures are for all of your protection. Now I won't be long, and once we finish, we can all get some much-needed rest."

Noona bowed once to Keggle—who looked rather embarrassed at Rasperton's outburst—and he nodded back. Then she walked down the boarding ramp.

"Raise the shields as soon as I leave the ramp!" she called to the cockpit. She stepped off the ramp, and as soon as it retracted, the low hum of shields going up sounded.

Perhaps now she was being a bit paranoid. But as the saying went, it's not being paranoid if there's really someone out to get you.

Three Duro security force personnel and the two clone pilots ran up to her.

"Padawan Qolid," said the middle guard, "we have all entrances and exits sealed from the bay to their quarters. We have effectively cordoned off the area."

Noona nodded. "Good. No trouble?"

The guard frowned, his red eyes glowing. "There was an incident with a HoloNet News reporter, but he was a minor disturbance."

Noona scowled. "A reporter. The last thing we need."

The guard dipped his head in agreement.

Noon opened her comlink. "Send them out."

The ramp descended once more, and after four clone troopers trotted down the ramp, both Republic and Duros politicians followed them. Four more troopers brought up the rear.

Noona turned back to the Duro security personnel and ordered them to secure the corridor. Noona followed behind the procession, seeing the politicians to their rooms.

Noona was going to retire herself, but she decided to check with the defense minister of Jyvus City in the Ops Center.

She rode a turbo-lift up ten levels, fighting hard to keep her eyes open the whole way.

She wasn't quite yet regretting her decision to head this mission. She had wanted more responsibility after all.

And just wait till the other Padawans back at the Temple heard that she'd protected Republic ambassadors _and _the Duros Chief Representative!

The thought made her mouth drop open in a Mon Cal grin.

The lift doors parted suddenly and she strode through.

"Jedi Qolid," said the defense head as he came to meet her.

She dipped her head to him. "Minister Shyle. Forgive the lateness."

Shyle waved her off. "No issue, I assure you. We'd have been up anyways, with the terrorist attacks and all today."

Noona nodded in understanding. She certainly understood the need to take precautions.

"I just wanted to be sure everything was in order here," she said, trying her best to sound wide awake.

Shyle gestured to the room behind him. "Please, have a look."

Though dread settled within Noona as she knew an inspection would take at least twenty-minutes, she nodded pleasantly and followed him as he showed her different stations.

Before long, though her fatigue plagued her, she found herself really getting into what Shyle was telling her about their defense systems and counter-measures. Battle tactics had always been a favorite subject of hers back at the Temple, and the weapons systems she'd studied there had all been only sims, so seeing these systems were certainly a—literally—real treat.

He went over the defense forces stationed around Duro: three Dreadnaughts, three _Venator-_class Star Destroyers, one prototype _Victory-_class Star Destroyer, four Golan-1 Defense Platforms, seven _Acclamator-_class Assault Ships, over a hundred starfighters between Jyvus and the Defense Platforms, not to mention those on the ground, plus the turbo- and quad-lasers all over Jyvus.

They could effectively repel an attack ranging from a terrorist operation to a full-blown CIS strike.

"So," Shyle said twenty minutes later, "we are quite prepared for any threat, as you can see."

He grinned at her. Noona liked the man immensely. Even at this ungodly hour, he still kept his wits about him and had made her laugh, alleviating some of the stress plaguing her.

"Well, I leave our safety to you and your hard-working men and women," Noona said, inclining her head to the the Duros sitting at various stations around the room. She drew some weary smiles, but most of them were too focused on their tasks at hand. She nodded again to Shyle, and left the room.

Her quarters were on the same floor as the politicians, and she had to enter the code to get in twice, She blinked her eyes rapidly and typed the correct one. Her brain felt like mush, and she practically fell into bed, stopping on the way only to put sleeping robes and set the room temperature to a slightly more humid atmosphere.

She was asleep soon after.

Noona was awake four hours later. She'd slept rather peacefully, not dreaming.

Then her internal alarm had awoken her and it was back to business.

She rose out of bed, and after getting cleaned up in the 'fresher, pulled on a fresh tunic and robes, pants and boots.

When she exited her quarters, the corridors were quiet, and she relished the relative peace. The politicians' bodyguards were posted outside their doors and on each end of the corridors, but it was as peaceful as it had ever been in the last few days.

Last few months, actually. Since the Clone Wars started.

Noona felt the ball of dread that had taken up residence in her stomach since the Battle of Geonosis make itself known.

There hadn't been a war with the Republic in the last hundred years. Sure, that had been squabbles, differences, tension, and the drawing of lightsabers, but never anything on the scale that the Republic suddenly needed a Navy and a Grand Army.

Many were calling it apocalyptic, and stories of a galaxy-wide economic collapse—or worse, destruction—ran rampant through the HoloNet News.

It unsettled Noona deeply. The thought of the galaxy falling apart at her young age was enough to keep her awake some nights, praying to any deity that wanted to listen.

She didn't bring her troubles to Master Atherton, though. She would simply tell her to trust in the Force. And Noona needed more than that.

She needed...something tangible. Not that the Force wasn't tangible, Noona had touched it and used it many times, but the Force couldn't hold Noona and whisper in her ear that everything was going to be okay. That's what she wanted. What she _needed _right now. And she had to keep this all bottled up inside, because she sure couldn't tell anyone about it. The only people she really knew and trusted were Jedi. And they'd all tell her the same thing. Trust the Force, trust the Force, trust the Force.

But she wasn't just a frightened spectator in this war. She could actually make a difference, she c+ould wield a lightsaber and take the fight to then enemy.

That was what kept her going those nights she felt like crying about it.

By now she had entered a turbolift and was up on her way to Ops. She exited the lift and nodded to two guards stationed on either side of it. She paused a moment to look out a viewport at the green planet spinning slowly below.

A flash caught her eye.

Her eyes swiveled toward it. She thought it had been right near one of the three Golan-1 Defense Platforms.

And just like that, the peace she'd been feeling shattered into a million pieces.

_**A.N: Thanks for the reviews guys, keep them coming! They keep a guy going. **_

_**A viewpoint has been raised that perhaps by referring to the Venator-class Star Destroyers as Star Destroyers, that I may be drawing a relation to the Empire. True, the Empire used Star Destroyers as an iron fist in which to hold the galaxy in the future, but the Republic had them first, and before they became symbols of fear, they were symbols of protection and freedom. So the people in the story will refer to them as Star Destroyer, for the sake of being more realistic. Plus, we all know how the story ends anyway. ;]**_

_**I actually appreciate the comment being made, so I could make this point. So thanks, and very good comment. **_

_**On a side-note, I do SO harbor a fetish for the epic-ness of the name, "Star Destroyer." ;]**_


	6. Chapter 6

Two _Venator-_class Star Destroyers were swiveling around, away from the planet. There had been three there just last night, and, Noona thought, but a moment ago as well.

One of the warships had just jumped to hyperspace. Then, _flash, _so did another one.

"What in the _name _on the Force?" Noona growled viciously. She flew down the corridor to Ops. The doors slid open barely in time as she barreled through.

"Minister Shyle!" She cried. A klaxon was going off in Ops. He spun and took three long strides to her. "What's going on? Why are those cruisers leaving?" Noona asked him .

"We got word ten minutes ago straight from the Senate Action Subcommittee for Corellian Trade Spine Defense. The Star Destroyers are taking a little shake-down cruise along the Corellian Trade Spine."

Noona snarled, "The mission to Duro _was supposed to be their shake-down cruise!" _

Shyle shrugged helplessly.

"If the three _Venator_s leave, we lose a good percentage of our offensive and defensive power! What is the Committee thinking!"

"We've been pleading with them to reconsider, but they'll hear nothing of it," Shyle said.

Noona whirled around. "I need a comm station, immediately."

Shyle directed her to the main bridge communicator. "Patch me through to Master Atherton," Noona ordered the comm officer. The officer glanced to Shyle, who nodded.

It took a minute or two for Aylee's fizzing form to appear life-size above the holoprojector. "_Noona,_" she said, sounding slightly confused, glancing around Ops. "_What is it? We've just had a break in the-_"

"Three Star Destroyers have just jumped into lightspeed, Master," Noona cut off quietly, quelling the shock and anger she'd been feeling since she saw the first destroyer jump away.

Aylee blinked. "_What?_"

Noona deferred to Shyle. He cleared his throat. "Ah, Master Atherton, Defense Minister Shyle here, pleased to make your acquaintance. The Star Destroyers received direct orders from the Senate Action Subcommittee for Corellian Trade Spine Defense to make a shake-down cruise to Rodia."

Aylee's face darkened. "_Leaving Duro practically undefended. Stang, this is ridiculous._"

"I recommend taking it to the Jedi Council, Master," Noona said. "If anyone can fix this mess, they can."

Aylee nodded and glanced at Shyle. "_This mission to Duro—escorting the ambassadors here and providing protection—was supposed to be their shake-down cruise. I do not understand what changed." _

"Neither do I, milady. Though, the defenses Duro has established already are more than enough to protect you all from any harm sent this way."

"_I don't doubt it, Minister, but the fact remains that our own forces all but abandoned us."_

"Before the _Resolution _jumped away, Captain Maltek asked to make it clear to you he protested the order with utmost vehemence and promised he would be back."

Aylee shook her head. "_I'm taking this to the Jedi Council. Thank you—Noona, I will contact you later._"

Her image winked out.

Noona and Shyle locked gazes. "I think we'd better reposition the forces stationed around Duro to reciprocate for the loss of the Star Destroyers, at least until they get back," she advised.

"Good idea. Tactical alert, people," he said to his bridge crew. Then he grinned at Noona. "If nothing more, this will provide us with much-needed training."

As soon as Aylee had heard the news, she couldn't believe her ears. By the Force, what was on _Rodia _that would need the protection of three Republic warships?

She and agent Valiant had made a huge break-through in the Allegiance-case. One of the members had survived the counter-assault, and had told the Intelligence agent of the location of their main operations base. They'd just begun to mount a tactical strike group, when the call came.

Now she was storming down the halls of the Rotunda—those that were not quarantined from damage, anyway—looking for a private HoloNet receiver station.

She was directed by a staff worker to a room on the far left at the end of the corridor. She entered the room and seated herself at the station. She inputted the proper codes and waited.

"_Jedi Temple_," came the voice from a floating head of a Gand.

"I must speak with the senior ranking Council member or members available, please."

"_Name, ma'am?_"

"Aylee Atherton."

"_I will check to see if one of the Masters are available. It may take a few minutes._"

"I can wait."

She was put on hold. Thirty minutes later, Yoda and Mace Windu appeared. They were in the Council Chambers. They rarely left Coruscant unless something absolutely pressing was afoot, so she was not surprised to see it was them who answered her call.

"Masters Yoda, Windu." She inclined her head.

"_Master Atherton_," Yoda said. "_Glad to hear from you, am I. Going to contact you soon, we were. Heard about the terrorist-attacks, we have. Okay, are you?_"

"Yes, Master, we've actually located the group's headquarters and are planning a tactical strike at this moment."

"_This is good news, no attack like this will go without justice,_" Windu said.

"Yes, Master, but this is not the reason I have contacted you," Aylee said.

Windu and Yoda traded glances, then looked at her expectantly. "The three Star Destroyers that accompanied us to Duro have just been called off to go on a 'shake-down' cruise to Rodia."

They digested that information._ "Who authorized that?_" Master Windu demanded.

"The Senate Action Subcommittee for Corellian Trade Spine Defense did, sir," she said, stumbling slightly over the mouthful title.

"_Deal with this we will, Master Atherton_," Yoda said. "_Continue with your operation on the terrorist stronghold, should you. See about sending additional forces to you, I will." _

She dipped her head again. "I will, Master. And thank you, though I pray we do not need them."

"_We'll contact you as soon as we have news," _Windu said, then their image winked out.

Aylee stood, a storm rising within her. How dare the Subcommittee? How _dare _they?

She calmed herself before she let her anger get the best of her. She would put the finishing touches on the terrorist counter-op and nail the bastards.

By then, hopefully those Star Destroyers would be back in orbit. Because without them and their menacing presences, the Duros system was practically wide open to attack.

General Grievous took the news in stride. The fall of Duro was meant to be, it seemed.

The leaving of the three Star Destroyers had not been orchestrated by the Confederacy—at least, not by anyone on his security clearance level.

It was a gross stroke of luck.

Some paranoid Republic senator made exactly the wrong decision at exactly the wrong time.

And now, the Core would suffer for it. Oh, how Grievous would like to see the stringing up of that buffoon.

Though, the presence of the warships would not have changed the outcome of the battle anyway.

Grievous had enough capital ships involved in this battle to blast the planet to rubble. Three warships would not have made a difference.

The Third Fleet was at the via point between Thyferra and Duro, and had been about to jump the rest of the way when Grievous received the news.

"This is _most _fortunate, Count," Grievous said to the shimmering image of Count Dooku.

The man sniffed. "_Even if they were there, Duro would fall. Your mastery of command astounds even myself, Grievous_. _And strikes fear into the hearts of the citizens of the Republic." _

Though Grievous knew this, he knew it was rare indeed for the Count to give out praise, so he dipped his head. "Thank you, my lord."

"_This attack will not only shock them, it will cut their moral. Their home has been invaded. They will no longer feel safe. Tis all about the psyche, General. It is as much about psychological warfare as it is conventional. This war will not be won by fleets and armies alone. We must make the Republic believe they cannot win." _

Grievous laughed, the mechanical sound filling the room. "Believe me, Count, after the battle of Duro, there won't be a citizen in the Republic who won't have doubts about who will win the war."

Dooku nodded once. "My faith is in you, Grievous. Do not fail me." His image winked out.

Grievous stared at the space where Dooku had been. "No, Count, I'd never _dream _of failing you." Grievous did carry a measure of respect for the man, but the Count was so...arrogant. It got rather bothersome at times.

Grievous reached down to his waist and let his metal fingers run along the collection of lightsabers he'd collected over the years. He was especially grateful to Dooku for teaching him how to use one of the nasty weapons, though.

When his fingers touched the pommel of the lightsaber, a small scraping of metal-on-metal rang out, and he instantly felt a flash of self-loathing.

When this was was over, he would spend the credits necessary to put him into a more humanoid body, one that could feel sensations.

He opened his comlink, letting that thought linger. "_Bridge," _answered the captain. "Get us back into hyperspace, Captain. I want to be at Duro by 2200."

His heart beat away quietly in his chest.


	7. Chapter 7

Noona, Shyle, and General Durn aboard the Golan Space Defense Platform _Defender _spent the entire morning and most of the afternoon rearranging the defense forces stationed in Duro's orbit. It took most of that time for the Defense Platforms to get into places evenly spaced from one another, a process that would have taken fifteen minutes with a normal space-going vessel, but what seemed like forever for a station over 1500 meters long to make use of its miniscule thrusters to do so.

Noona was aboard the _Defender _with General Durn, since it was easier to coordinate things from up here rather than Jyvus Space City. Though the station/city did have sub-light drives, there would have been little logic in doing so with the _Defender _available. Also, the Platform also had better defense sensors here than Jyvus, so tracking individual starfighter movement while also directing the much larger _Acclamator_s was made easier.

Durn and Noona didn't get along very well at first.

She sensed he thought the Jedi were prolonging the war, setting their ideals before the well-being of the Republic. But once she made her battle strategies known, he began to respect here more as a tactician and less of a Jedi. Which Noona had no problem with, but the little jabs he kept making at Jedi irked her to no end.

Between the two of them and Shyle, they'd positioned their forces as evenly as they could around the planet, or at each of the "four corners" above the planet, with one Golan Platform at each corner. Jyvus City and the two smaller Space Cities were in the middle of the map. Four of the seven Assault Ships were divided evenly among the four points, with the remaining three stationed at opposite sides of the "map," and the prototype _Victory _Star Destroyer and the three Dreadnaughts remained in the middle of the map to provide quick support to any corner that saw trouble. The starfighters remained in the hangars of the Platforms and Star Destroyer, with routine patrol runs being run.

"Well, General, Minister, I think we've done all we can considering the circumstances," Noona said at last as she stood erect from bending over the map.

"And the odds of facing an attack bigger than a terrorist operation is miniscule," Shyle said, though he seemed to be convincing himself as much as the others.

"Let's hope so," Durn said.

Noona shook her head. "What kind of attitude is that?"

Durn looked at her and deadpanned, "A realistic one. Sorry we can't all be as high and mighty as you Jedi, who fear nothing."

Noona scowled as best she could, though to a human it would look only as though her skin tone changed color. "The Jedi fear plenty. They just don't take their fear and direct it into insulting jabs!"

Durn frowned at her. "I'm sorry, did I hurt your feelings?" Noona had half a mind to throw him across the room.

Shyle cleared his throat before Noona could respond. "All right, people, let's focus here. Noona, why don't you come on back to Jyvus? The politicians are getting a bit antsy without their Jedi protector here." He smiled warmly at her, and shot Durn a look.

Noona nodded, didn't look at Durn, and strode out the Ops Center and to the hangar bay.

Her _Aethersprite_-class Interceptor shot out of the bay minutes later.

Aylee and Agent Valiant headed the strike force that would take out the terrorist cell's base of operations.

Scanners had picked up the signals the Allegiance had been using to keep in contact with its base, and though it was heavily coded, the five hundred slicers they had working on it quickly broke through the barrier.

The Mountains of Mist was where the base was located. They had three squads of fully-trained scout troopers with them, including Valiant and Aylee.

They had just reached the foothills. Aylee and Valiant debarked from the AT-TE that had transported them. They didn't want to take a gunship in so close to the enemy base, for fear that they would either open fire with hidden turbolaser batteries, or flee the base all together.

The two other AT-TEs unloaded their troops, and the group of them headed back to a rendezvous point about a klick away, where they would get picked up by LAAT/c gunships.

"All right, men," Aylee said. "Let's get a move on."

They began to ascend the foothills, Aylee sprinting and Force-jumping ahead, reaching out with her senses in all directions.

But if the Trehalt Allegiance was monitoring the foothills, it was from afar, for she sensed no presences bigger than a rodent here.

She made her way back to her slower-moving strike force. "No one around. It appears we're unexpected."

Valiant grimaced. She noticed he rarely wore his helmet, except in combat situations. He even had a special clip on the back of his armor to hold it when he wasn't wearing it. It clacked against his camouflaged armor every time he walked. "In a normal situation, I'd think they were monitoring our progress from orbit."

"I doubt the Allegiance has the sort of resources for that, Valiant."

"Right."

"I still want constant scanning for life-signs, though," she told the tech-officer.

The clone nodded inside his helmet, touching a few buttons on his datapad, holding it out before him and moving it in sweeping motions, as if detecting metal.

"Fan out, let's keep moving," Aylee ordered.

It took them the better part of the afternoon to traverse the foothills, in all that time she could only get minimum contact with the rest of the world. From what she'd gathered, Noona and the Defense Minister were coordinating their space-forces, rearranging them into better defensive positions.

Beyond that, she did not get much else without risking a full comm signal, which she dared not do in case the Allegiance picked it up.

On the outreaches of her senses, she sensed a number of presences suddenly.

She motioned for the group to stop and take cover.

Once they had, she carefully stretched out further. Five anxious humanoids, about three hundred meters ahead.

The group careful moved on for another hundred meters before stopping again. "I'll take them out," she said to Valiant. "You and the men wait ten minutes after I leave, then follow me, got it?"

He nodded.

"And be careful with mines or other traps. Who knows how long they've had to sets up all sorts of nasty surprises."

She launched herself into the air then, landing on a rock. She pulled her lightsaber off her belt, but left it unlit. She hopped from rock-to-rock, hardly using the Force to keep her balance.

When the presences—now distinctly Duros—got within twenty meters, she dropped behind a boulder.

They were arguing furiously.

"How _dare _you let them use us like this, Reyal!" Said one voice loudly. "The Allegiance has never before had this much collateral damage! So we get some extra weapons and men from an 'anonymous' source, and suddenly you're taking orders from them?"

"They helped us out a lot, Neeja," growled who she assumed was Reyal. "We _needed _those weapons and food supplies they gave us."

"And now they rule us!" Neeja barked.

"They do _not _rule us, Neeja," said a new voice, a softer one.

"Oh no?" Neeja said to the new voice. "They tell us to hit the Rotunda, and we hit the Rotunda. At what cost? The negotiations are still going on, we lost a good percentage of our forces, and got a hundred civilians murdered! How do they _not _rule us? We're taking orders from some unknown sympathizers, and look at what's happened!"

Silence. "That was the bargain," Reyal said. "In order to get the supplies, we had to hit a target they wanted us to hit."

"Taking on the _Rotunda _though, Reyal! What the hell! And just who do you _think _this supplier is? For Duro's sake, they gave us the technology to hack into the freighter's computer systems and hyjack them _wirelessly_."

That was news to Aylee. It had been assumed the Allegiance members had been on the freighters physically. Though, they had no way of knowing, because even with pursuit, the freighters had crashed themselves into whatever the closest building was.

"It's the Confederacy, Reyal, Dion. The Confederacy has been supplying us and ordering us around! Accept it!"

"NO!" snarled Reyal. "I am _not _some pawn! I _know _what I'm doing!"

Aylee realized with a start that these people were the heads of the Trehalt Allegiance. She should take them here, now, make them pay for what they'd done.

Yes, they had been pawns, perhaps, but they'd also carried out their orders. A hundreds, possibly thousands, were dead to show for it.

Aylee stood, made sure she had a good grip on her lightsaber, and vaulted over the boulder, her blade snapping to life with the click of a button.

The five Duros cried out in surprise and raised the assortment of blaster rifles and pistol they had on them.

Aylee's emerald-green blade sliced off the muzzles on the two rifles as she landed, ducking a bolt from Reyal, and came up with blade flashing. Two pistols fell broken to the ground, and she kicked the remaining pistol out of Reyal's hand.

"Gentlemen," she said, "I believe we have some things to discuss."

Before anyone could respond, ten armed guards thundered out of a small cave opening, and Aylee was thrown on the defense once more.

Her lightsaber came up in a sweeping arc that batted aside two bolts. "You _are _being used!" Aylee shouted to Reyal as he retreated behind their reinforcements.

"I can prove it!" She couldn't, really, but she would try anything at this point to get his attention.

"Wait!" he barked to the guards. The blaster fire stopped, but they held their rifles level, and the lack of physical bolts was made up for the lasers they glared at her.

Aylee smiled. "Thanks, boys."

"How can you prove it, Jedi?" Reyal asked.

"Oh, she's just lying," Neeja growled.

Aylee's piercing green eyes were turned on the Duro. "Two minutes ago you were just arguing that your organization is being used by the Confederacy."

He sneered, his nose-less face wrinkling with the effort. "I wouldn't trust you, Jedi, as far as I could throw you."

"Why?" Aylee asked, her voice nonchalant.

"What?"

"Why would you _not_ trust me? Because we are keepers of the peace? Because we try to stop needless death?" Aylee's blood was boiling now.

Neeja backed off, then. Her glare and the boiling presence she was imprinting in the Force was making all the Duros men uncomfortable.

"Put your weapons down," she said harshly, speaking with the full weight of the Force now. "_Now." _

The Duros slowly lowered their weapons.

"Where you going, Neeja?" she called as the Duro began sprinting down the cave's length. Using the Force, she yanked him back, up and over the guards' heads, and plopped him before her feet.

He hid his face from her, begging her not to kill him.

She sighed, crouched down, and helped him to his feet. She clipped her lightsaber to her belt. "I'm not going to kill you, any of you. I just want to talk. Specifically, to Neeja and Reyal." She looked to the other Duro. "Can that be arranged?"

Reyal nodded slowly, seeming to coming out of a daze. "Good," Aylee said. "How bout here? Let's just sit and talk?"

The guards looked amongst themselves, but Reyal came forward. "Fine, Jedi, I'll hear what you have to say."

Aylee smiled. Just then, Valiant and her men crested the hill, weapons trained on the Duros.

They gasped. "Trickery!" Neeja cried.

"No, not trickery," Aylee said. "We came here with full intention of destroying the Trehalt Allegiance, but now that I've heard there's a chance you have been duped by the Confederacy, I'm willing to postpone your death sentence."

They Duros looked amongst themselves as her troops made their way carefully to Aylee's position, weapons trained on the Duros.

"You do not have a whole lot of options here," Aylee said. She used the Force call the guard's weapons to her troop's feet.

Reyal sighed. "It appears not," he said.


	8. Chapter 8

Jez Debalto and Tip were in the Jyvus City Viewing Center when the Star Destroyers left Duro space.

The huge bulbous room featuring the even larger wraparound viewport that gave it the name Viewing Center was the hottest attraction in Jyvus City. Thousands of people could fit in the room, and still have a wonderful view of the stars in the Duros System. There were many other smaller attractions placed all around the room, but the view was the main reason everyone came.

Jez and Tip had been getting drinks and lunch in a local bar when someone made a comment about one of the destroyers moving closer to the station.

Jez turned in time to see the massive ship jump into hyperspace.

In the next ten seconds, Jez had his mike in hand, and Tip's camera was hovering a meter before him.

He was on the commlink with HoloNet HQ the second after. "Marci, this is Jez! We have breaking news! You've gotta put us on-air! Now!"

"_What's going on, Jez?" _Marci asked, puzzled. Jez had never pulled anything like this before, even in his career as The Risk-taker.

"_Just do it, dammit! _The Republic's abandoning Duro!"

Marci patched him through regular programming.

The light on the camera went red.

"Hello this is Jez Debalto with some breaking news," he began. Tip whirled the camera around to look out at the stars. The remaining two Star Destroyers were swiveling around.

People were gasping in shock and outrage, and Tip made sure to get a number of their expressions on-camera.

Then, before the camera's lens, the two Star Destroyers blasted away into hyperspace.

Indignant cries of shock rose up from all around the Viewing Center. "They abandoned us!" A shocked voice screamed. "How could leave us at a time like this!" Someone else said.

The crowd roared their displeasure.

"As you can see," Jez said, struggling to be seen by the camera as people tried to tell its lens what they thought about the ships leaving. "The Republic has practically abandoned the Duros people in their time of need. How this will affect the Ruling Council's decision, I can only guess.

Someone crashed into Tip. The camera went spinning as he lost control of the datapad.

The crowd had become a mob, at this point. The camera crashed to the ground. Jez, knowing the camera would still pick up his voice from the mike he wore on his shirt-collar, said, "We'll bring you live updates! Stay tuned!"

Then the camera was smashed into smithereens by stampeding feet.

In all the years Dictio L'varren had been a negotiator, ambassador, and a politician, never before had he seen something so crushing to a negotiation meeting.

In a top floor of a spacescraper in Jyvus City, the Ruling Council and Republic ambassadors had a clear view of the Star Destroyers exiting Duros space.

Dictio's mouth hung open in utter astonishment.

The Duros delegates were in an uproar. Rasperton, one of Keggle's aides, was the leading voice here.

"You realize these talks are over!" he shouts.

Another shouted: "How dare the Republic do this to us! The Duros people have been outstanding citizens of your government!"

Hoolidan Keggle could only sit back and stare at Dictio.

The Republic ambassadors were at a loss for words, and could do nothing but take the verbal beating being thrown at them.

Then, Dictio's shock gave way to anger.

Rage.

But not at the Duros, but at the Republic military.

"We are going to get this mess figured out!" He shouted above the Duros. They calmed, somewhat. "Until then," he said, "please don't automatically assume the meetings are over. I'm sure there is a good reason the ships left Duros space. Perhaps there is a battle nearby that needed their attention!" he pleaded.

Keggle only shook his head.

Dictio and his staff swept out of the room. As soon as the door closed behind them, he growled to his aide, "Find out what the _kriff _happened in there! And I want a damn good explanation! This will hurt the negotiations immensely_, _if it hasn't already crushed it! If these talks don't work, Duro is wide open to attack! I will _not _let this happen!"

The aides scurried away. "Get me Vice Chairman Amedda!" Dictio roared as they all walked into the comm center. The other ambassadors were either on their comm links or scrolling through their datapads for news on the leaving of the cruisers.

Dictio waited as the droids patched him through to Coruscant.

Vice Chairman Mas Amedda was usually seen right beside Chancellor Palpatine. The Chagrian's blue skin and long horns jutting out from his head made him distinctive in a crowd.

"_Ambassador L'varren," _Amedda said when his life-size holoprojection appeared over the holotable. "_Are you-" _

"Cut the stang, Mas," Dictio growled. "What is going on here? Three of our Star Destroyers just jumped out of the system! Do you have _any _idea what this implies for the Duros people? This is a sign to the Duros Ruling Council that the Republic could abandon them at any time!"

Amedda nodded. "_We just got word of this ourselves. The Jedi Council has come to Chancellor Palpatine with it. I was on my way there when your call came through. Are you all right? The terrorists did not harm you?" _

Dictio waved him off. "If I am here yelling at you, I am well enough to do so. What have you got on the cruisers leaving?"

Amedda sighed. "_You are not going to like this."_

Dictio sneered. "Try me."

"_The Senate Action Subcommittee for Corellian Trade Spine Defense has ordered the cruisers on a shake-down cruise to Rodia." _

"And?" Dictio asked, hoping against hope there was more to the story. For if that was it, all hopes of a permanent Republic military presence on Duro was lost.

"_That's it." _

Dictio lost it, then. "_Are you kriffing _joking!_ How in the nine hells of Corellia do I tell the Ruling Council the ships that are supposed to protect them went on a little pleasure cruise to karking _RODIA?"

"_Reign your temper in, Dictio," _Amedda warned.

Dictio took three deep breaths, but his blood was still red-hot. "Who ordered it? I want him strung up by the NECK in Monument Plaza!"

"_As soon as I find out more, I will contact you, I swear. I've just reached 500 Republica. I have to meet with the Council and Palpatine now, I will get back to you." _

His image collapsed.

Diction punched the holotable.

When he glanced at his knuckles, they were bleeding.


	9. Chapter 9

"General," said the navigation droid. "We are six hours out from the Duro system."

"Come out of lightspeed," Grievous replied.

The Third Fleet dropped out of hyperspace.

In the distance, light-years away, Grievous could just make out the ball that was Duros' sun.

"Ready the missiles," the general ordered.

"The First Fleet has also dropped out of lightspeed, sir," said the hollow, mechanical voice from sensors.

"As soon as we launch the missiles, order them to return to lightspeed."

The ironic thing about Operation Durge's Lance, was that the attack was actually designed like a lance.

The Techno Union had recently invented the Seismic EMP counter-mines, a nasty projectile able to launch itself through hyperspace to attack an enemy on the other side.

The Republic had no knowledge of the weapon's existence, they had made sure to keep a very tight lid on its production. Indeed, these were only prototypes that Grievous had brought along, but they would work to the desired effect either way.

The lance worked like this: First would come the tip, the EMPs. They would put a dent in their space forces, and also alert them to impending attack. That would not matter, though, for the main fleet, the driving force behind the tip, would come out of hyperspace a few hours afterward.

But that was just on this side, the Thyferra side. Merely an hour after the EMP launches, the First Fleet, having jumped before the Third, and was thus closer to the planet, would appear in Duro space. It worked like a lance from both sides of the planet.

Using the EMPs was overkill, really. With two full fleets coming to bear on Duro, even the largest defense force would be hard-pressed to repel Grievous and his forces. Using the EMPs just signified the Confederacy would stop at nothing, sink to the lowest level, to rid the galaxy of the Republic. Of course, politicians like Nute Gunray, San Hill, and Shu Mai, twisted the view of sinking to the lowest to _look _like incredibly feats and acts of bravery on the CIS's part, but Grievous knew better.

This war was an extermination.

The extermination of the Republic, and of, more importantly, the Jedi.

And so, they would take the overkill route, shock the rest of the Republic into the believing they could not defeat the Confederacy. What would happen at Duro could happen to them as well.

Dooku was right when he said the war would be fought as much in the psyche as it would be conventionally.

"Missile cruisers report ready, General."

"Fire when ready."

Five blue streaks slashed across the main viewport and blasted away into hyperspace.

"Get us back into hyperspace," Grievous ordered, feeling the quiet satisfaction he felt whenever he knew without a doubt he would win a battle.

The fall of Duro had just been set in motion. The moral of the Republic would crumble.

Worlds would cry out in retribution for Duro, and the Chancellor would not be able to do anything about it, for the Republic fleet was spread thin as it was.

The government would fall, and chaos would reign.

And Grievous would have a hand in all of it.

Reyal, the head of the Trehalt Allegiance, sighed as he related the story to Aylee.

Apparently, some anonymous sympathizer donated some weapons and food stuffs to the Allegiance, with only one condition. They hit the Rotunda on the day of the talks. He convinced Reyal through a series of holomail messages that hitting the Rotunda during the meetings would be the right, logical thing to do. He convinced Reyal that the Ruling Council was handing over Duro's freedom to the Republic by letting them keep a permanent military presence here.

"Did you ever think for one second that your anonymous sympathizer could be connected with the CIS in anyway, and that this would be the perfect way to _hurt _the Durese from their perspective?" Aylee asked him.

Reyal scowled at her. "It crossed my mind, yes, but I didn't think the CIS would go to all the trouble to help out some militia group that should be off their radar."

Aylee smiled at him. There was no humor in the expression. "The CIS will go to the most _extreme _lengths to hurt the people of the Republic, I assure you."

They had called in a Republic gunship to conduct the briefing, for Aylee would not be caught dead walking into the Allegiance HQ.

Not only could there be traps, but she could barely hold in her anger at Reyal as it was. Being in his homestead would most likely push her over the edge.

Reyal looked up at her from the makeshift table they'd put in the middle of the LAAT gunship. "What concern is this to you, Jedi? Don't you have a war to fight?"

Aylee moved to him, leaning over the table. "The Jedi are keepers of the peace, fool. Whether it be defending a planet or stopping petty terrorists like _you, _I have vowed to protect the innocent. You have hurt many innocents these past two days, both physically and psychologically."

Aylee stormed out of the ship. Valiant walked with her. "Get him out of my sight, back to Ranadaast. You can conduct a more thorough interrogation there, I'm sure."

Valiant did not argue with her.

He turned back to the troopers and made a whirling motion with his hands, indicating they were leaving.

"Leave enough troops here with me so that we can take hold of their HQ," Aylee told him.

She got about two hundred troops in the end, with two AT-TEs waiting outside the cave entrance. Aylee led the way into the base.

By then, the Allegiance members knew of Reyal's capture, and had been warned that if any of them even stepped foot outside the base, they would be fired upon.

The base was a complex underground labyrinth complicated enough that Aylee did not wish to go traversing it herself. She sent three squads to secure the munitions depots, led by Neeja and another leader of the Allegiance.

She did talk to one of the engineers, though, and tried her best to draw a map of the base.

He led her down a rather direct route to the water supply. "You're getting this from the main water mane in Ranadaast?" she asked.

"One of the the lesser populated farms surrounding the capital, actually."

"Wonderful, so you're stealing from ignorant farmers."

The Duros frowned at her. "Get out front and prepare for detainment," Aylee told him. "You and your people are clearing out of this base by tonight."

She let the clone trooper take over watch-dog duty of the engineer, and she made her way back to the cave-mouth.

After checking in with the squad commanders, she commed Noona.

"_Master," _Noona said, obviously pleased to hear from her.

"Noona, how goes it up there?"

"_Pretty well. We've got an effective defensive screen worked out up here. We'll be ready for an attack, __should one come. Any word on those Star Destroyers?" _

"Nothing yet. Though, any signal incoming from Coruscant might be hindered by the mountain range. Take over my comm frequency when I'm not using it, maybe you'll get word."

"_Yes, Master. How goes it down _there_?" _

Aylee smiled, genuinely for the first time in twenty-four hours. "We got the Allegiance with their trousers pulled down. Never saw us coming. We got lucky."

"_I seem to recall being told numerous times that 'there is no such thing as luck. Only the Force.'" _

"Yes, well, some things even the Force has no control of."

Noona hummed a chuckle on the other side. "Where are you now?" Aylee asked her.

"_Running perimeter patrol in my fighter." _

The Jedi Master frowned. "Your starfighter? I thought you were to be protecting the politicians."

"_Well, since the Star Destroyers left, I've been all over Duro space, so I haven't been doing much of that in the first place. And now that you've shutdown the Allegiance..." _she trailed off.

"Weren't you the one just yesterday talking about keeping up appearances? That the Duros government might take offense to the fact that the Jedi weren't personally protecting them?"

She knew Noona's response before her Padawan could voice it: "_Master, if three warships abandoning the planet at a time like this hasn't already offended them, then I'm not sure I _want _to protect a people so dense." _

Aylee laughed lightly. "All right, my Padawan. I'll check in with you later. Contact me if you receive word from Coruscant."

"_Yes, Master. Qolid out." _

The line was dropped.

Aylee was quite proud of her Padawan.

She remembered walking into the training center at the Jedi Temple, a newly christened Master, urged to take on a Padawan. While Aylee had known training the next generation was vital to the Order, she had at least wanted a few missions more to herself before having to choose an apprentice.

But, she abided by the Council's wisdom and went to watch the trainees anyway.

The Force-sensitive children were doing lightsaber drills when she and Yoda walked into the room. She immediately took notice of the young Calamari girl. When she was a Padawan, she and her Master had gone on an extended stay on Mon Calamari to serve as bodyguards for their Chancellor. The people as a whole had intrigued Aylee.

Little Noona Qolid had a blindfold on and was attempting to bat away sting bolts from a drone, as were all the children.

She managed to get many of them, but one too many slipped through her guard. Little Noona was becoming increasingly agitated the more the bolts got her. Aylee remembered smiling fondly at the youngling's determination. Yoda took notice of Aylee's interest in the Padawan, and began talking about how promising she was. That she tended to look at the bigger picture than the individual targets. She saw a forest where others saw trees. She also sought out alternative routes to problems, and such was made known when Noona finally had enough of the sting bolts, and reached out with the Force to smash the drone into the nearest wall. Her small mouth had fallen open so wide in a Mon Cal grin, Aylee knew instantly that the girl was to be her apprentice.

Yoda had smiled at Aylee. Usually, if a student had smashed one of the drones into a wall, it was out of anger. But Noona had done it with only minor annoyance, seeing it as the easiest and quickest solution to a problem.

Noona and Aylee went on their first mission together a week later. Nine years later, they were the perfect team.

Aylee knew she had never made a decision more right than choosing Noona as her Padawan. She would make a fine Knight.

Then a thought dragged her down. The Clone Wars had killed so many Jedi, never before had so many been killed since the great Sith Wars.

Aylee shook the detestable thought from her head.

Yes, many had died, and many more would. But those strong in the Force and in themselves would live to see another day.

_**A/N: Thanks so much for reading everyone. And don't worry, the payoff is coming! Get ready for grand epic space battles and ground battles galore. Hope you liked this little view into how Aylee and Noona came to meet each other. :]**_

_**Stay tuned, and remember to R&R! (I appreciate the reviews that have been given greatly, thanks guys, you rock!) **_


	10. Chapter 10

Jez was carried along with the mob as they rushed out of the Viewing Center.

"Tip!" Jez called. The little Chadra-Fan would be easily trampled in this mess of tall Duros. Jez and Tip had been a team for years, and Jez wouldn't just abandon his friend.

"Here!" Jez heard Tip call back. The rodent-like alien was a few paces behind him, barely managing to stay on his feet.

Jez gritted his teeth, planted himself firmly, and went against the tide.

He got shoved, pushed, cursed at, and punched in the eye, but finally Tip reached him. Jez just grabbed the small alien, swooped him around his shoulders. Tip wrapped his furry arms around Jez's neck and his short legs around his torso, holding on for dear life.

"Hang on," he said. Now that Jez was going with the tide, he received much less abuse. Then they were out on the Promenade, but the rioters didn't stop there.

"Where are we going?" Tip gasped into Jez's ear. "Beats me," he replied.

Sirens began going off in the Promenade, and security personnel rushed out of doorways, trying to calm the angry crowd.

"Hang on, I'm going to try to get into one of these shops," Jez growled.

Making his way across the mob was almost harder than going against it, but luckily they were only a few meters from the wall. Jez crashed into it, and made his way along the wall till he came to a clothing shop.

He fell through the doors and Tip rolled off him. The Chadra-Fan offered the little help he could give to get Jez back on his feet.

"What's going on out there?" asked a shaky voice from behind the counter.

Two female humans were cowering behind the cashier counter, looking at Jez fearfully. The sirens continued whooping, and Jez heard the distinctive _whomp-shhh _of tear gas canisters being fired into the crowd.

"My gods," Jez said. He turned back to the women. "The three Star Destroyers in orbit around Duro just left."

"Why are people stampeding?" One of them asked, standing up now.

"The leaving of the destroyers practically invites attack. Everyone knows: If you want the Core, you need Duro."

That puzzled her. "Why?"

"Well, it's one of the farthest Core Worlds, making it easier to attack from one of the Colonies. It's also a good staging area to launch strikes at other systems."

"Oh. But, uhm, when I asked 'why' I mean, why did the destroyers leave?"

"Oh! Well, I'm not sure, exactly. But to the Duro people—and to me—it looks like the Republic's leaving Duro."

She bit her lower lip. Then she looked down at her companion, who was still crouched behind the counter. "Go to the back, gather our things. We may need to leave in a hurry."

The younger woman, probably her daughter, nodded and went to do her task.

"Do you have a ship?" Jez asked. Getting out of Jyvus seemed like a good idea at the moment. Jez and Tip had come in on a public transport from Coruscant, and they had no ship. Perhaps they could hitch a ride with this lady and her daughter down to the surface, and much safer alternative than staying here on Riot Central.

"No," she answered with a frown, "Public transport is still up, right?"

Though Jez's hopes were dashed, he shrugged. "Far as I know. But I wouldn't try making my way through all of _that_ right now." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder to emphasize his point,.

He glanced over his shoulder. The air was smoky, and people were still screaming and running about.

"When things have died down, Tip and I will escort you to the hangar, maybe catch a ride ourselves."

She looked at the Chadra-Fan. "You're Tip." He nodded.

She looked at Jez expectantly.

"Oh, excuse me. I'm Jez Debalto, HoloNet News Service."

She studied his face. "Yes, I've seen you on the holo."

"Wonderful. And you are?"

"Misty. In the back is my daughter, Hazel."

"Well, Misty, looks like we're stuck her for the foreseeable future." A thought crossed his mind. "Do you have a holo-camera, by any chance?"

She frowned. "Yes, a small one. We take pictures of inventory to put on our HoloNet site if people want to order it. Why?"

Jez grinned and glanced at Tip. Tip smiled back up at him, seeing the question in Jez's eyes, and nodded.

Jez clapped and rubbed his hands together. "You're about to be on the holo, love," he said with a big grin.

"Hello, this is Jez Debalto, HoloNet News. I need to be patched through to HNN headquarters on Coruscant, please."

Jez was leaning on the counter, speaking into a comlink to Jyvus City's comm-center.

"_You'll have to wait, sir," _came the weary voice of the Duro on the other end. Jez could only imagine the amount of people asking to be patched through to different worlds. "_We have about a million messages going through the transceiver at the moment." _

"Yes, but I am a reporter for HNN. People need to see what's going on here! The Republic deserves to know of Duro's fate!" Jez made his voice sound panicky. Appeal to the Duro's patriotism, and he may just get through. "You're planet's been abandoned, man! The person who ordered this needs to pay. And in order to do that, we have to make what's going on here a public spectacle. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

There was silence on the other end. "_In ten minutes, I can patch you through. That's the best I can do." _

"Thank you for your time. I'll await your message."

Jez put the com down.

Tip snorted. "You should have been a politician."

Jez grinned at him. "No sir. You can't really speak what you feel when you're a politician. When you're a reporter, you get to act like a polly, but talk like a space pirate."

Misty and Hazel were busy packing their personal belongings. Tip was sitting on the counter, tinkering with their small holocam. "How's that going, Tip?" Jez leaned over the counter, folding his arms under his chest, watching Tip's work with a suspicious eye. But then, Jez knew next to nothing about holocams.

"Well, the people will be able to see us," Tip said. "How clear the holo will be on their end, I'm not sure."

"I don't really care if they can see us, though that'd help. I really want them to hear us, hear about what's going on. I can only imagine the uproar going on in the Chancellor's Office right now."

"They'll be able to hear us, that's for sure," Tip said, turning the cam over in his hands, touching a small hydrospanner to a compartment. "Don't you think there are any other HNN reporters out here? Ones with working cameras, and are probably already broadcasting?"

Jez frowned. "We were the only ones scheduled to be out here. Everyone's either focused on the victory at Nadiem or the disaster at Dreighton, so most of our reporters are at one of those two sites. Duro isn't really news-worthy as of late. At least, not until the terrorist attacks. But inter-system travel to Duro was shut down after the attacks. So unless they came on personal ships, I don't see how they'd get here."

Tip shrugged. "They'd be stuck in the same situation we're in anyway." Because of the state of emergency and chaos, all power and resources were being diverted to the main transceivers in Jyvus. So now, all planetary messages going off-world had to be relayed through Jyvus.

Jez spent the reminder of the ten minutes watching Tip mess with the cam, drumming his fingers on the counter-top, and watching with remorse the chaos going on outside the shop. Ops must have put a lockdown on the Promenade, because when Jez tried the door to let someone in, it would not budge.

His comlink chimed, then. "Thanks, man," he said to the Duro on the other end.

He was patched through to HNN HQ then.

Silence, then static. Then, Marci's voice: "_Jez! By the stars, what happened over there?" _

"Someone stepped on my camera, Marc. But we've got a replacement. Can you put us on the main feed?"

"_I'll see what I can do. Standby." _

Jez waited. "Done," Tip said.

Marci came back on. "_All right, Jez! Give me your cam's freq, and you'll be live." _

Jez handed the com to Tip, who gave Marci the frequency.

Jez stepped out in front of the camera. Marci counted down, and then Jez was live.

"Hello, people of the Republic, Jez Debalto here reporting live from Jyvus City, Duro space." He paused a moment for people to let his sudden reappearance sink in, to call allow people to call family members into the holo area, that the great reporter Jez Debalto was alive and reporting again!

"When I last left you, three Star Destroyers had left the Duro system, and utter chaos had ensued." Tip panned to the smoky chaos outside the shop.

"My cameraman and I managed to make it to safety inside a clothing shop on the Promenade. No official word from the Duros government has been issued as of yet concerning the disappearance of the warships, but even if one had been given, I don't think the outrage of the Durese could be doused."

"_Jez," _said Thom in his earpiece. "_How is the rioting mob being treated?" _Thom and his co-anchor had been reporting before Jez interrupted, but they took his reappearance in stride.

"Tear gas has been shot into the crowd and things seem to be calming down, somewhat. Ops center has issued a lockdown on the Promenade, though, we are unable to leave our temporary sanctuary."

"_How're you doing, Jez? Are you all right over there?" _

_How am I doing? _Jez thought to himself. _How _am _I doing? _He was slightly shaken at being almost trampled by the mob, but the warships' departure hadn't really phased him. True, this wasn't his home, so he wasn't expected to be as outraged as the Durese, but he _was _extremely curious as to why the cruisers left.

Jez shook his head and gave an honest answer. "I'm shaken, Thom, still functioning, still moving on, but I'm shaken."

"_Ronet Coorr_," Amedda's holoprojection told Dictio in the com room. Dictio sneered. "Coorr. I want him _detained, _Amedda!"

Mas Amedda smiled patronizingly at him._ "You do not have the authority to do that, Dictio. But we're taking care of it."_

"Well, what's the reason he's giving for pulling the ships?"

"_Rodian Senator Onaconda Farr bribed Coorr with a ridiculous amount of contracts for building on Ando, where Coorr lived at one point and still owns a large portion of real-estate there. Farr bribed him to move the ships to Rodia in exchange for the contracts." _

Dictio shook his head. "Unbelievable."

"_Both senators are resigning, don't worry, Dictio. Since we can't communicate with them while they're in hyperspace, when the ships enter Rodian space we will order them back to Duro. Do you think you can salvage what's left of the talks with this information?" _

Diction pursed his lips and readjusted the ice pack on his knuckles. "Perhaps, but it's not likely. I'll need you to send all of your evidence to my datapad. We'll do what we can. Can you charge the senators with anything?"

"_Perhaps Coorr can be charged with acceptance of bribery, but we'll need to take this ordeal to the Senate." _

Dictio sneered, but a feeling of relief coursed within him. "Wait till I get there before we hang him."

Amedda chuckled deeply. "_I wish. I'll send the data to your 'pad. Amedda out." _

Dictio turned to his entourage and sighed. "Let's get back in there and sort out this mess. Kerton, I want you to skim through what we've got, see if there's anything we can put out there that will calm them and the public down immediately. Signla, let's see what we can do about getting more ships out here..."

Noona led the three V-19 Torrent fighters on a sweep around the defensive perimeter. From here, Duro was about as big as her thumb.

That's when Yoda and Master Windu called. At first, she just about choked—for it wasn't everyday a Padawan received a call from the Jedi Grand Master and the best sword fighter of the Order—but she quickly regained her composure.

"Masters Yoda, Windu," she said as their images appeared before her on the small holopad in the cockpit.

"_Padawan Qolid," _Yoda said in warm surprise. "_Contacted your _Master's _comm frequency, I thought we had." _

Noona nodded. "Yes Master, you did. She asked me to take over her freq because she's in the moutain ranges on the planet below and wasn't sure your message would get through. Let me see if I can contact her on her secondary freq. Standby, please."

Noona tapped a few buttons and waited for Aylee to answer. Her Master did not.

She called up the images of the Masters again. "Sorry, Masters, she's not answering."

"_That's all right, you can give her a message," _Windu said.

Noona nodded and they told her about Ronet Coorr and Onaconda Farr and their shady dealings. She could only shake her head at the end of the story. "Humans will do most anything for money."

At first, she thought Windu would take offense, but he was technically a Korunnai, hailing from Haruun Kal.

Either way, he let the comment slide. Yoda chuckled. "_Can and do indeed, young one," _Yoda said. "_Pass along the message to Mast—"_

That was as far as he got before proximity alarms started going off inside the starfighter.

"_Contact!" _came her wingman's voice from the speakers. "_Bearing mark one-one-three mark two-six! Confirmed hostile!" _

Noona twisted her craft about on the bearing her wingman gave her. She clicked her shields on. "Masters, there appears to be enemy contacts exiting hyperspace," she said to images. She closed down the holopad to allow her to see out the cockpit viewport better, but left the audio on.

"_They're projectiles!" _her wingman cried. "_Heading for the nearest Defense Platform." _

"_Padawan Qolid?" _Came Windu's alarmed voice from the speakers, no doubt having heard the alarms and her wingman's report.

Noona turned the craft in a tight loop to get a visual on the Golan Platform. Three blue streaks veered off from a group of five to attack the Platform, the remaining two continuing on an unknown course.

"The Confederacy has launched some kind of hyperspace-capable projectiles, Master!" Noona cried as the first missile made contact the the Platform's shields. The brilliant flash of kinetic energy on the shields made her blink away spots. When she looked again, the second one collapsed whatever remained of the shields, and the last missile slammed home. A terrible explosion rippled the surface of the space station, spider-web cracks appearing along its hull.

"Blue Squadron, form up!" she ordered her fighters.

"Masters," she said to the concerned Jedi on the other line. "The Confederacy is here! Or they're coming, at least. Three missiles just took out a Golan station! We need help! Send help!" She cut the transmission because she couldn't have any distractions right now.

To her squadron, she said, "We're going after the last two!"

She punched the sublight engines to their extremes. "Blue Two, on me," she ordered. "They're heading for Jyvus!" she cried.

Though, the missiles wouldn't be enough to penetrate the shields, they would do much damage to them, and if a Confederate fleet was behind these missiles, they needed those shields. "Arseven," she said to her droid. "Get me an estimate on how soon the projectiles will reach Jyvus."

The droid whistled at her and gave her his best estimate. "Damn!" she swore.

"Contact the city, tell them to fire on the missiles, even if it's blind firing! Just do a sweep with turbolasers!" R7 tootled an affirmative.

With her own weapons, she got the targeting cross just above the nearest projectile as it cut a swath through Duro space and pulled the triggers.

Blue laser fire cut across the space between her fighter and the missile. Her wingman's red lasers joined hers, and then the whole squadron was firing. By the missiles were too far away, and the lasers did nothing.

"How far are they from Jyvus?" she asked no on in particular, her voice hollow.

"_Seven klicks and closing, Commander,_" replied one of her pilots.

Jyvus opened up with their turbolaser defense, raking space before the missiles. One bolt caught a missile, and it exploded. Unfortunately, the missiles weren't close enough to each other that the explosion of one would take out the other, and the remaining one proceeded through the laser volley.

"No!" Noona cried as the hit the shields.

But nothing happened.

It was a dud.

She gasped in relief as whoops and laughs came through the comm.

Starfighters were launching from Jyvus and the surrounding Golan stations already. Noona sat back in her seat and awaited further instruction. Disbelief and horror fought for control over her emotional state.

A planet's worse fears had been realized.

The Confederacy was coming to Duro.

_**A/N: More battles to come in the next chapter, guys. Thanks for reading!**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Countdown: Operation Durge's Lance minus one hour. **_

The politicians got a clear view of the assault from where they stood in the secondary meeting room of the Ruling Council in Jyvus City. They'd still been negotiating the terms of the agreement well into the night. Dictio L'varren was just happy they were even _considering _the talks anymore. True, they weren't gaining much ground, but at least the Duros were willing to listen.

But as soon as the alarm sounded, all talk stopped and they could only watch in fascinated horror as the missiles ravaged the space station.

Gasps rose up from all around the room, but no words were spoken.

Clone troopers and city security rushed into the room. "We need to get you out of here, sirs!" one of them shouted. The politicians surged forward. "Two of the missiles are heading for Jyvus. Your transports are ready for evacuation."

A slight shudder ran through the floor as Jyvus' turbolaser batteries opened fire.

They reached the hangar bay a few moments later. A mob was stationed just outside the closed doors of the bay, and it was all the security personnel could do to keep the rioters back.

Hoolidan Keggle slowed his walk and raised his hands to the people. They quieted, fearful eyes on their leader.

"The Republic has abandoned us," Keggle said, "the Confederacy is upon us. But take heart, my friends, we are the Duro. We own the spaceways. We _will not _go down without a fight!"

Just those few words seemed to reassure the crowd, and smiles and laughs went all around. Most of the crowd was sated, the Durese portions of it at least, but the alien and Human presences were still in an uproar.

A clone trooper was in a furious argument with Ops. He turned to Keggle and the others after a moment. "They aren't letting anyone off the station, we're under lockdown."

Minister Shyle's voice crackled over the station intercom. "_Brace for impact!"_

Keggle braced himself against a wall. _How can this be happening? _he thought as the troopers retreated further back into the Space City.

Noona Qolid's starfighter was given special clearance to land and she easily brought he craft down to rest on the hangar deck.

A flight crew popped her canopy and she jumped out onto the ground. "What's the situation?" she asked the chief.

"Bad, ma'am. Chaos is running rampant all through Jyvus. It's all the police forces can do to subdue the crowd. As if it weren't enough they feel the Republic has betrayed them, but now a Confederacy attack has pushed them over the edge."

Noona nodded grimly. She opened her comlink. "Minister Shyle, I'm coming up."

She tried Master Atherton's frequency and got no answer. Where her Master was in the mountains, it was getting to reception on her com.

"_Stang," _Noona muttered under her breath. How could they have prepared for this eventuality?

She exited the hangar bay, skirted the mob in front of it, and rode a turbolift up to Ops.

Shyle looked absolutely haggard. His usually glowing red eyes had lost their glow, and his nose-less face was drooping.

"Noona," he said wearily as she walked into Ops.

She frowned. "Are you all right, Minister?"

"Fine. Just tired." He smiled unconvincingly at her. "Well, this certainly wasn't according to plan."

"No indeed," Noona said. "I was in contact with the Jedi Temple right when the attack came. I asked them to send reinforcements, but I'd also put an official distress call in."

He nodded. "Already done. We've contacted Kuat and Nubia, they are sending reinforcements as we speak."

Noona sighed in relief. "Good." But something wasn't right. Why would the commander leading this operation send in those missiles before the main attack force? Surely he knew the Durese would assume a force was behind the missiles, and would prepare for attack.

Unless he was absolutely certain he could win. _Knew _he would.

Noona let a Mon Cal sneer cross her face. His arrogance would be his downfall.

Perhaps it would be that fabled Asajj Ventress, who'd killed so many Jedi with her hatred and power of the dark side alone. Noona had always wanted to cross blades with that bald-headed—

A buzzing interrupted her thoughts. Shyle turned to the comm officer expectantly.

The Duro read his screen, eyes widening. "Minister," he said slowly, still taking in the information. "It's from Kuat. They say a small flotilla consisting of five _Munificent-_class frigates have just appeared in their space. They are firing upon their shipyards!"

Shyle strode over to the screen, reading what the officer told him. Another message bleeped.

The officer opened that message. Shyle and the officer both gasped.

"What is it?" Noona asked, dread weighing her down.

"Same thing is happening at Nubia," Shyle said softly. "We have been effectively cut off from reinforcements."

Noona blinked rapidly. No, this could not be happening. "It's only five frigates!" She said desperately. "There's got to be at least, what, five Star Destroyers at Kuat? They can deal with the frigates and get to Duro!"

Shyle nodded. "But," he said in that soft tone, "Will it be too late by then?"

Everyone knew it would take at least three days to get to Duro from Kuat at top speed, and that's before they had to deal with the Confederate ships.

Noona shook her head. "We must have hope," she said. "Are there any other planets that can offer us assistance?" she asked.

"Not without risking a planetary invasion of their own," Shyle said sadly.

"The Jedi are coming," Noona said with conviction. "They'll help us."

_**Countdown: Operation Durge's Lance minus forty-five minutes. **_

Grievous prided himself on being a patient being.

He could sit still for hours on end doing nothing but waiting, and had on many occasion in his younger days on Kalee when he was hunting prey or waiting in ambush for the Huk.

But right now, Grievous could barely sit still. He wasn't sure why, exactly. He'd launched larger campaigns than Durge's Lance, but this one was perhaps the most important.

It was the push to the Core.

All eyes were on Grievous and how he would prevail.

Grievous's hand tightened into a fist. Well, he hoped they were watching closely, for it would be a battle worth going into the history books. He opened his hand when he heard the metal in his palm begin to groan.

He checked a screen. By now, the diversions he'd sent to Kuat and Nubia should have arrived. He could only imagine the utter chaos that must be going on at Duro right now. He relished in the fantasy.

What target could the missiles have taken out? he wondered.

Didn't matter anyway. The missiles were supposed to strike fear into their hearts, leave them confused and scrambling to rally their defenses, and the main body of the fleet was to come in and catch them off-guard.

"ETA of First Fleet," Grievous asked.

"Within the hour, sir. Thirty-five Standard minutes."

_**Countdown: Operation Durge's Lance minus half-hour. **_

Aylee frowned as he comlink informed her it could not get reception.

She called the comm-spec over from the cave-mouth. It was past midnight here planet-side, and the view of the stars from the mountain ranges was breathtaking.

The comm-spec ran over. "Can you get a message out to Jyvus?" she asked.

He checked his 'pad. "No, ma'am," came his filtered voice. "Can't get a signal off-planet from this position."

Aylee could call for some gunships to come and take what Allegiance members they'd already rounded up, but it'd be better to call for extraction when they'd secured both the base and _all _the resistance members.

Valiant had called a while ago to tell her they'd gotten information concerning key Allegiance personnel stationed around the planet and they'd already detained half of them.

Well that was all well and good, but what was a bored Jedi Master to do? Her clone troopers were busy securing the base, and she couldn't be much help there.

Aylee shook her head and smiled. She'd always been reprimanded by her master about her impatience. She still struggled with it, even well into Jedi Knighthood.

She stretched into the Force, then, seeking calm. Her nerves were frayed, her senses overtly heightened, jumping at every noise; the result of being over-tired.

When she was in the waves of the Force, she felt a strange feeling of apprehension come over her.

Danger.

Something was about to happen, or was happening already. She stretched out for her Padawan through their Force-bond.

Noona's presence felt exhausted, fearful, and angered.

When she felt her Master's touch, Aylee got a sense of mild surprise, then relief. Noona sent her feelings of apprehension, fear, and an overwhelming need to contact her.

Aylee opened eyes she hadn't realized she closed and turned to the comm-spec. "Call a gunship. I need transport out of here _now._"

_**A/N: Sorry for the lull-age, guys. I had a rare opportunity this week to sign up for a novel writing class, so I've been busy with that junk. **_

_**Things are heating up, though! All hell is about to break loose. ;]**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Countdown: Operation Durge's Lance minus 23:31. **_

Noona was back in her starfighter in the hangar bay when she got the order. She was to be shipped out with the _Victory'_s small flotilla to be the opening salvo of their forces should the Confederacy choose that approach vector.

She frowned and stretched back into the Force for her Master. Aylee sent her reassurances that she was indeed trying to get a hold of her.

Noona contacted Jyvus and told Jyvus' comm-center to let any call from Aylee Atherton through to her immediately. She thought it was utterly _stupid _for the Duro government to cut the planet off from off-world communications. It would cause nothing but panic among the Durese. But there was little she could do about it now.

Flight Control gave her the all-clear and she blasted out of the hangar.

She curved into a path that would take her to the _Victory. _She keyed her comm. "_Victory _this is Noona Qolid coming up on your flank. I am at your command."

The comm returned: "_Padawan Qolid? This is Captain Anders," _said the Human on the other end. "_I just wanted to extend my personal thanks at accompanying us. If you would just continue flying escort, I will put you in command of Fang Squadron." _

"Thank you, Captain," she said to him. "I will perform to the best of my abilities."

"_Of that I have not doubt," _he said.

Noona's mouth fell open in a smile. It was so..._refreshing _to hear another sentient being treat a Jedi with respect. Since the Wars started, that was hard to come by nowadays.

She nudged her engines and her fighter caught up quickly with the cruiser. A squadron of ARC-170s launched from the Destroyer's belly. Fang Squadron, she assumed.

Her comm crackled. "_Commander Qolid, this is Fang Lead." _The voice was dead-pan. No emotion. Probably wasn't too happy about turning over his squadron to someone he didn't even _know, _let alone a Jedi.

She frowned. Perhaps Anders had shown a little too much goodwill by turning over the squadron to her. "Lead, Qolid here. Look, I don't want to take your command away from you. Just give me a number and I'll just be apart of the rest of the squadron."

The man chuckled. "_Thank you for the thought, Commander, but orders are orders. And we've been short one fighter ever since Jabiim. But I'm glad to know that not _all _Jedi are stiff-necked, stuck-up, holier-than-thou—"_

"Point taken, Lead. From henceforth you'll be known as Deuce, then?"

"_Confirmed, Lead," _he replied_. _

Noona's mouth opened again. "Form up on me, One-Flight." True, they now had thirteen fighters, but it wouldn't make much off a difference when Confederacy tri-fighters and Vulture droids were cutting through the Republic forces like a mower to so much grass.

"Two-Flight, Three-Flight, form up on the other side of the ship," she said on the squadron-freq. She switched over to a private channel with Two. "Deuce, anything I should know about your people?"

"_Three and Ten take the initiative just a bit too much for my liking. Eleven works better alone, Five is a bit of a hothead. But these are hardly shortcomings," _he added as if she were drawing negative judgments about his people.

"Don't worry, Deuce, I'm just trying to get them where they'll be most useful," she assured him. The fighters formed up around the _Victory. _The entry vector the missiles had taken was about ten kilometers out from the main defense perimeter, just inside the outer defense lines.

"Arseven," Noona said to her astromech. "Keep an ear out for Master Atherton's call. I'll be busy with the squadron for the foreseeable future, so notify me if she's trying to patch through."

R7-G6 tootled an affirmative.

_**Countdown: Operation Durge's Lance minus 20:16. **_

Jyvus City finally canceled the lockdown they'd put on the Promenade, and Jez, Tip, Misty, and Hazel escaped from the confines over their faux prison and out onto the main corridor.

Other people who'd been locked into their own stores emerged with shocked looks on their faces.

An announcement had been made over the loudspeakers about the missile attack on the Golan Platform _Avarice. _

The Confederacy of Independent Systems were indeed coming to Duro.

The evacuation had been officially announced. All civilians were to proceed immediately to the main hangar deck and await further instructions.

Tip got it all on camera.

Until one of the station security guys grabbed the cam from Tip's hands and threw it to the ground. "You people make me sick," he'd snarled at Jez and Tip. "Causing unrest where there should be unity and peace."

Jez only nodded. He made himself sick. The things he did for his job.

Now they were making a mad dash for the hangar bay, elbowing and shouldering their way through the masses that were elbowing and shouldering _their _way through to the deck.

About two kilometers from the main entrance to the hangar, they encountered a wall of angry Durese, Humans, Trandoshans, Chadra-Fans, Sullustans, even a few Hutts and Wookies.

Misty whimpered. "How are we ever going to get out of here?"

Jez gave her a reassuring lopsided grin. "Don't worry, babe, there's gotta be a side entrance."

They took a side corridor only to find that clogged up with angry sentients as well.

"The entire population is trying to get off the city!" Tip growled in Jez's ear. Tip had piggy-backed up with Jez again when the latter almost lost him in the mob of people. "We'll never get out of here through the main hangar."

Jez glanced over his shoulder into his friend's rodent-like eyes. "My gods, Tip, are you suggesting we _steal _a privately owned ship from a private hangar?" Jez beamed at him, then. "I must be rubbing off on you. What happened to your holier-than-thou attitude?"

"I still hold true to my morals and ideals, Jez," Tip snarled, "I just want to live, is all. And I'm _not _saying we steal one! I'm just saying maybe we can...hitch a ride."

Jez shrugged and jutted his chin to the mob. "Better chance of that happening than staying here. It's worth a shot." He turned back to Misty and Hazel. "We're going to find an...alternative form of escape."

They nodded fearfully.

"Where do you think one of these private hangars are?" Jez asked Tip under his breath, glancing around to make sure no one within earshot got wind of their idea.

Tip thought about it as the foursome made their way back the way they'd come. Jez turned into a relatively empty corridor that contained refreshers.

"They'd be somewhere where close to Ops, perhaps, and where the politicians hold their meetings," Tip said, jumping down from Jez's back.

"Yeah," Jez said, turning around, "but that's on the other side of the city. If the Confederacy _is _coming, and soon, I don't think we still want to be on Jyvus when they get here."

"Well, what do you propose, Jez? The main hangar's blocked off for a kilometer around, secondary hangars are equally blocked, and the private ones—ones we aren't even _sure _we'll be able to use, now that I think of it—are on the other side of the city!" Tip rubbed his slender hands together furiously, a nervous tic many Chadra-Fans had.

"Hey, hold your Podracers, Tip," Jez said, glancing at Misty and Hazel, who'd become increasingly panicked.

"Maybe we should just go to the main hangar," Misty said in a shaky voice. "That's where everyone's going, right? Everyone _will _get off this city! Chief Keggle will make sure of it!" She glanced from her daughter, to Jez, to Tip, then back to Jez. "Right?"

Jez rubbed his eye-sockets with his palms. He blinked a few times and nodded. "Yes, everyone will get off this station. And I promise we'll get off too."

Screams suddenly sounded from around the corner. Jez motioned for them to stay there and he peeked around the corner.

Some crazed Human with a blaster carbine was mowing people down as he barreled his way through the masses, trying to get to the front. Someone else shot at him, but missed, hitting another individual. A blaster was shot in return, and soon more blaster fire erupted through the crowd.

Jez's eyes widened as he turned back to the group. "We're going to have to go for a private hangar," he said, fingering the blaster he wore inside his jacket; The result of one thing he'd learned long ago: some people _really _hate reporters.

_**Countdown: Operation Durge's Lance minus 10:48**_

They made their way carefully to the Park Way, a huge artificial ecological recreation of a valley on Duro that spread for a kilometer over Jyvus.

They stumbled onto the walkway, avoiding stragglers carrying possessions as they made their way to the hangar.

Jez searched the artificial skies. But nowhere, from where he stood to the top of the transparisteel dome that protected all of Jyvus, could he see any taxis.

Tip pointed to a grounded aircar. "You know how to hot-wire a Sienar Jay-Six, Jez?"

Jez grinned. "I do indeed."

They ran over to the vehicle. Luckily, the doors were unlocked so they piled in. Jez found with mild surprise that the ignition card was still in the car. Whoever left it here knew they were not coming back.

Jez sent a silent thanks to the owner of the vehicle. Then he started up the aircar and took to the skies.

_**Countdown: Operation Durge's Lance minus 7:01. **_

Dictio L'varren and the other politicians were still stuck on Jyvus.

_Unbelievable_, Dictio thought,_ truly unbelievable_.

Now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure he _wanted _the Republic to divert the resources to protect a people so arrogant and stupid full-time.

Oh sure, the Duros may have been the first to discover space travel, and sure, they may be among the best pilots in the galaxy. That was all well and good.

But what good were a people that couldn't even organize a simple _evacuation?_

They should have been doing drills at least twice a year! These idiots were acting as if nothing like this had never happened before.

_Well, _Dictio thought, _nothing like this _has _happened before. But that is wholly besides the point. _

After they'd found out that the missiles had been duds, the clone troopers and security detail had chosen to take the politicians to the other side of the city to one of the more private decks. News that more riots had broken out at the main hangar had only reinforced this decision. Though, Dictio thought they were wasting time by traveling all the way to the other side on foot.

The head of Duro security was a complete bastard. Instead of getting there the fasted route, their entourage consisting of five clone troopers and five Duros security guards had taken the "safe" path and go by foot.

As if any of the terrorists—a problem that seemed so distant right then—would have the nerve to attack the Chief at this point. But, since their main base had been discovered, any of the Allegiance members stationed up here may decide to go out in a blaze of glory and take the politicians with them.

So, with that train of thought, the head of the Chief's security detail thought it safer to go by ground.

Well fine. But what if the Seppies chose that moment to attack, and they were still in the city?

That's when they heard the whining of an incoming aircar.

Two troopers immediately pulled them into an alley while the rest took up firing positions.

"Report, Corporal!" The Duro security head, Tan Stazi, shouted.

"It's driving erratically, sir, heading for our position," the clone trooper reported as he tracked the car with his blaster's sight.

"Threat assessment?" The Duro called. Dictio and the other politicians were ushered behind a large garbage bin, the two clones taking up positions in front of and behind them.

The trooper outside the alley paused. "Unable to determine nature and intent of the vehicle, sir."

"Let's just wait and see what he does," the Duro said.

The clones outside the alley retreated into it, but remained outside enough to track the ship as it passed overhead.

Then the ship banked.

"_Rodder!" _Stazi snarled.

The ship was increasing speed.

"Take it down!" Stazi roared.

Blaster fire ripped the air between the ship and the troopers.

In the aircar, Jez gasped out loud. "They're kriffing _shooting _at us!" he cried.

Misty and Hazel shrieked. Jez began evasive maneuvers.

From the air, Jez had seen the troopers and had automatically assumed friendlies. But now that he thought of it, they could be Trehalt Allegiance members trying to infiltrate Ops.

"Oh, stang!" He cried as one of their bolts hit the engines. He then lost all control over the car. "_HANG ON!" _

The aircar went barreling to the permacrete.

Dictio watched as the aircar hit the ground and skidded across the pavement. The figures inside were only shadows.

The hulk of the aircar finally stopped, halting a few yards down the road perpendicular to the alley.

The clones rushed out and the politicians peeked around the corner.

The door to the aircar was flung open and a man holding a blaster sprang out, opening fire on the troops.

The clones halted their forward movement and dove for cover. A couple of them hid behind trees while the others hid in another alley.

The Duros guards pulled the politicians back into their alley.

_**Countdown: Operation Durge's Lance minus 3:23**_

Jez was bleeding from the mouth, a result of the crash. But he wasn't going to let some bastard terrorists take him out, hell no. Not without a fight.

He shot off two more shots and took cover behind the car. Return fire peppered the car's hull.

"Jez!" Tip cried from inside.

"Just stay there, Tip!" Jez yelled. He popped out and fired three shots at the clones trying to flank him. They returned to cover.

"_JEZ!" _All three of his companions shouted.

He ducked into the car again, nearly hitting his head on the roof. "_What?" _

Tip pointed outside the car. "Those are Duro!"

"_Brilliant _observation, Tip! Karking _brilliant!" _He backed out and fired some more shots, ducking the return fire.

"_Jez!" _Tip shouted in his squeaky voice. A bolt grazed Jez's shoulder and he was twisted around. He didn't go down, though. Even in the schoolyard, no matter how hard a bully punched him, he never went down. He prided himself on that.

But a bully's punch had never felt like a flame thrower. That's what the grazing felt like: someone had taken a torch to his upper bicep.

He gritted his teeth, switched his gun to his other hand. He shot off warning shots to the troops as they ran forward, thinking he was down. They returned to cover.

"Jez, are you okay?" Tip asked, fumbling over his seat and into the driver's. Jez growled, "If there weren't an incessant _buzzing _in my head that sounded a lot like my friend Tip saying my name over and over, I may be able to focus more!"

Misty leaned forward, clutching the had rest on the driver's seat. She winced as more blaster fire peppered the car. "Jez, those Duro are wearing Duros Security Force uniforms."

"They probably stole 'em," Jez muttered, returning some fire. "They shot us down, for kark's sake!"

"This is a losing battle!" She cried. "Just surrender! Maybe they'll let us go!"

"They're terrorists, sister, they won't let us go!"

Tip was watching the clone troopers closely. "Jez, look at the way they move. They way the operate! Those aren't some crack terrorists, those are actual clone troopers!"

Jez frowned. At this point, it was all he could do not to scream in panic and find a nice dark hole to hunker down in until this whole thing blew over. He'd never been in a fire fight before, let alone one where two parties were shooting at him. All of his shots were just suppression fire, his bolts missing the troops by dozens of meters. His mind was going wild, eyes everywhere. He thought he was going to have a panic attack.

"They...they said the Allegiance consisted of former-special forces," he mumbled, thinking. He fired off a few shots in the enemy's general direction. He wiped sweat from his brow.

"Remember that piece we did on clone efficiency?" Tip said. "Jez, focus. That piece we did. We talked about the hand-motions they used? Look. They're doing that." Jez looked and saw that indeed they were.

"Okay," Jez answered dumbly, in his half0crazed state trying to put figure out why that made sense.

"They're clones, Jez! For the Republic!"

Jez blinked. "Right!" he cried. Without turning around, he threw his weapon across the street.

"Hey!" He shouted, hands up as he slowly walked away from the car. "Sorry. We thought you were the Allegiance." Then he laughed madly and fell to the ground, unconscious.

_**Countdown: Operation Durge's Lance minus :30. **_

Aylee Atherton's jaw dropped when the pilot of the gunship told her what had happened in orbit an hour before.

"To Ranadaast! I must speak with my apprentice!"

_**Countdown: Operation Durge's Lance minus :25 **_

Noona reached into the Force, looking for her Master.

She touched her presence. Aylee took notice of Noona and in what seemed like panic, sent a crystal clear message: _PROTECT THE SENATORS! _

Noona's head hit the headrest with the ferocity of the Force-message. Kriff, she should have known he first duty was to the Senators.

_**:20**_

She commed the _Victory. _"_Victory, _Commander Qolid here. I'm afraid I'm going to have to turn back. My Master wishes me to protect the politicians."

From the Destroyer: "_We picked up no comm freqs from your fighter, Commander." _

_**:12**_

"Jedi have more than one means of communication, Captain," Noona said.

A pause.

_**:07**_

"_Very well. Turn command back over to Fang Leader, please." _

"Yes sir," she said, feeling slightly embarrassed. She felt like a child who'd been told by her parents that she could not, in fact, go out to play with her friends and instead had to babysit the annoying sibling.

_**:03**_

She sighed and keyed her comm.

_**:02**_

"Deuce, bad news," she said.

_**:01 **_

_**00:00 **_

The entire Separatist First Fleet dropped out of hyperspace.

On the complete opposite side of the planet from where Noona and the _Victory _were stationed.

Warning klaxons went off in her cockpit.

She gasped and looped her fighter around. "_All craft, this is Minister Shyle!" _Came Shyle's voice from the comm on an open frequency. "_Military craft, engage at will! Repeat, engage at will! Civilian craft, if you're going to jump to lightspeed, it better be now!" _

Shyle switched over to a military-only freq. "_Cover the escape transports! Do _not _let that fleet get to Jyvus! Repeat, do not let that fleet get to Jyvus!" _

Outer-system automated defenses engaged the Confederate Navy. But the Confederate fleet, being led by three _Providence-_class carrier/destroyers, easily destroyed the anti-fighter and anti-ship gun emplacements.

She listened to the comm traffic as she punched it back to Jyvus.

Different voices came through:

"_Confirm, they are one-hundred klicks outside the main defense perimeter." _

"_Confirmed,_ Prominence_." _

"Defender_ is launching fighters." _

"_This is Blue Lead, we are engaging inbound tri-fighters." _

"_Got one on my tail." _

"_NO-" _

"_Three is down! Repeat, Three is-" _

"_Five and Three are down, Blue Lead." _

"_This is _Avarice_, we are not yet battle ready! Repeat, not yet battle-ready!" _

"Victory _here, _Avarice, _we will cover you. Launch your fighters." _

"_Jyvus City Control, here. Separatist flagship transponder confirmed. Commander Lot is commanding the fleet." _

"_Tri-fighters everywhere! There's too many! AHH-" _

"_This is _Ranadaast Liberty, _we are under heavy fire from the flagship. Send support, repeat: Send support."_

Noona switched her comm off and felt tears in her bulbous eyes.

She looked at Jyvus. The main fight hadn't even reach the mid-defense perimeter. The Golan Defense Platform weren't even within range to engage the enemy yet.

She twisted her fighter around. She'd fight them off until they got closer to Jyvus. Until then, she was going to kick Seppie ass.

_**A/N: Aha! Here it is! More to come! Thanks, guys! **_


	13. Chapter 13

Aylee's gunship sped into Ranadaast spaceport and landed with a _clunk_. Klaxons were going off all around the city.

"What's going on?" She asked Valiant.

He looked up from a headset, his eyes grim. "A Separatist fleet has just arrived in-system."

Aylee stared at him. "You're joking."

"Look like I'm joking?"

Aylee jumped from the ship to the deck of the spaceport.

She had to contact Noona. She was fairly certain her Padawan had gotten her Force-message, but she still wanted an update on the situation from Noona's point of view.

Valiant strode along side her as they made their way to the Rotunda's war room. Two clones went before them, and two followed behind.

They walked into the war room like a storm: Fierce, determined, and angry.

The room consisted of five clone troopers, two Clone Captains, one ARC Trooper, Mayor Kazan of Randadaast, and General Zed that commanded the Duros ground forces.

"Sit rep," Aylee snapped.

"The Separatist fleet has broken through outer-system defenses. One of the _Providence _destroyers have been heavily modified. The ship is like one massive hangar deck. At least three wings of starfighters have launched from that ship alone," answered General Zed.

Aylee leaned over the holotable showing the battle in space in shock. That was nearly two-hundred and twenty enemy starfighters. "They'll tear any resistance we offer _apart _with numbers like that," Aylee said quietly. "And that's just what one ship carries."

Silence in the room.

"Can we get a direct link with Defense Minister Shyle going here?" asked Valiant, a suggestion Aylee was about to make.

The Duro technician controlling the holotable nodded. Minster Shyle, appearing haggard and angry, turned to them. "_Well hello there_," he greeted.

"Minister, get our Dreadnaughts to the mid-defense perimeter," Aylee ordered. "They can mow down those fighters like grass."

"_Thank you for your suggestion, Master Jedi, but we have already ordered as much_."

Aylee sneered. "It's General Atherton, Minister. I'm on the same level as you, here."

Shyle shrugged and updated them with the current situation. "_The Separatist fleet cut through our outer-system defenses like ribbons. We have sent the _Ranadaast Liberty,Trehalt's Pride, _and _Celestial Clay _to halt their forward movement, along with our three Dreadnaughts. Support craft are standing by at the main defense perimeter line." _

"Where is Chief Keggle?" asked Mayor Kazan.

"_Making his way to a private docking bay. Utter chaos has ensured in the public docking bays. We're trying to get as many people out-system as possible." _

"Minister, right now our main concern is keeping the Confederacy away from Jyvus as long as possible," said Valiant. "Have you deployed troops?"

Shyle nodded. "_Three platoons of clone troopers have been deployed. We have effectively shut down the Promenade, Park Way, Viewing Center, and all other recreational points of interest. All civilians have been ushered to the hangar bays. Jyvus City has effectively become a military space station."_

"Minister Shyle, my Padawan is on her way back to Jyvus to take charge of the Chief's security detail as we speak."

Shyle nodded. "_I will inform the Docking Master_."

"Thank you. Please keep us updated."

"_As ordered, General_." His image winked out.

Aylee turned to her group. "Any word from the Republic?"

"We've sent out a distress call, but soon after, the Separatists cut off all out-system communications. We're fairly certain our request for assistance got through, but we're unsure it will be answered," Mayor Kazan said.

"It will be, Mayor," Aylee assured him. "Duro is one of the most important planets in the Core. Coruscant will answer your call for help."

Kazan took her reassurance with a nod.

Aylee moved on. "What's the situation here dirt-side?"

"The clones and Duro Security Force have been deployed in all major cities on the planet, as well as the main spaceports. Artillery and anti-aircraft batteries are being mobilized as we speak," said Zed.

"Are we raising planetary shields yet?" she asked.

"Not yet. We want to conserve as much power as possible to better direct the evacuation. Also, the enemy fleet is still thousands of kilometers away from the planet. It would be premature to do so at this time."

"But-"

"Supplies are still being run to Jyvus from the surface. If we raised the shields, nothing could get in or out unless the shields were shutdown or collapsed. In other words, we'd be cutting Duro off from Jyvus, something we can't afford to do yet, especially with Chief Keggle up there."

Aylee saw his logic, accepted it. "Our number one priority, in that case, is to get Chief Keggle back to Duro. I want to talk to my Padawan. Patch me through."

Noona punched the sublight drives. "Fang Squadron, looks like I'll be staying in command."

A laugh crackled from the comm. "_Not really a good time to be flaky about a decision, Commander," _came Fang Lead's voice.

Noona's mouth opened in a smile. "Won't happen again, Lead."

"_That's Deuce, Lead." _

"Right. Fang Squadron, lock S-foils in attack position."

The twelve fighters roared past Jyvus, surging to the main battle on the other side of the planet, where the two Golan Defense Platforms _Emancipator _and _Empirical, _the two Golans on that side of the "map" were launching fighters and starting up their point-defense systems. The three Dreadnaughts were taking up firing positions just behind the Golans' defense line.

_Defender _and _Avarice, _the Golans on the opposite side of the map, the Jyvus side, had powered their shields and launched fighters as well, but their fighters were more of a back-up, and were at the moment flying perimeter around Jyvus and _Avarice. _

Fang Squadron flew in fast and furious, blasting past _Emancipator _and _Empirical,_ at least three squadrons from the Golans following their lead.

Noona saw the _Ranadaast Liberty _explode in a mini supernova as Commander Lot's flagship tore into it repeatedly with heavy turbolaser fire.

_Trehalt's Pride _and _Celestial Clay, _two Assault Ships,were also under heavy fire from the fleet, but were somehow managing to fight back viciously.

"_Lead, tri-fighters and Vulture droids incoming," _Deuce said from the speaker.

"Flights, form up. One Flight, on me!"

The wing of fighters broke up just as a swarm of enemy fighters ripped through their flight path like shrapnel to a school of Calamari fish.

Fang Squadron lost Five and Nine in a heartbeat. "_Kriff!" _Noona cursed as she put her fighter in a tight barrel-roll to port.

She caught a tri-fighters in her cross-hairs and tightened up on the trigger. The thing about droid-controlled ships: Their reaction times were twice that of even the best pilots.

That's what made space combat with the Separatist forces so difficult. No matter if it were a green pilot just out of flight school or the most seasoned Jedi Knight—the droids were karking _fast_ and didn't care about how good you were. They killed without a second thought, without remorse.

And no matter how many new pilots the Republic turned out, the Separatists just manufactured more droid fighters, killing those green pilots.

It was very damaging to morale. And the Seppies never lost a single man.

The tri-fighter dodged her laserfire, rolling to port and looping up behind her quickly. Another bad thing about droid fighters: They didn't have to worry about inertia knocking their pilot unconscious because the pilot was a droid brain.

Noona was suddenly put on the defensive. "This is lead, I've got one karker on my tail!"

"_I've got you, Lead," _Deuce replied.

Laserfire ripped through the blackness of space and destroyed the tri-fighter. Noona breathed a sigh. "Thanks, Deuce." Perhaps it should irk her that she, almost a Jedi Knight wielding the awesome power of the Force, could not destroy a single bothersome fighter, and her wingman had to for her, but she'd worry about that later. _After _she made up for the death of all those aboard the _Ranadaast Liberty._

Lot's flagship chewed through _Trehalt's Pride _like so much garbage. The Assault Ship was ripped apart, and Noona felt the sentients' deaths aboard the ship through the Force.

Two more of her fighters died in fiery balls arcing away from the rest of the fight.

Noona jabbed her comm.

"This is Fang Lead to Jyvus City Command. We need more capital ships out here! Make that more ships period! We're getting ripped apart!"

She put her ship through a fierce loop as blue laser fire blasted all around her. She suddenly applied her rudder, throwing her ship around along the path she'd just traveled. The tri-fighter's droid brain did not have time to process this new information, because she was already triggering the lasers as she swung around. It exploded into a cloud of shrapnel.

"_Nice shooting, Lead," _said Two.

"Thank, Deuce. But there's about a trillion more, let's get to work."

The remaining fighter force, perhaps only twenty fighters now, fought viciously against the enemy fighters.

The _Celestial Clay, _the last remaining Assault Ship, was breaking off from the capital ship bombardment, turning back into the safety the Golan Platforms offered.

The _Clay_'s commander ordered all shields to aft as they sped away from the Separatist war machine.

Aside from battering the Assault Ships into oblivion, the capital ships did relatively nothing, letting their seemingly endless supply of fighters clear a path for them.

Two Dreadnaughts and another two dozen starfighters were breaking away from their positions at the Golan Platforms to help the already decimated first defense wave against the tri-fighters and Vulture droids.

R7 tootled at her. "What is it, Arseven?" Noona asked. The droid tweeted something, the translation scrolling up on her screen.

"Oh, stars," she whispered. It was Master Atherton. What was she going to tell Aylee? That she willingly went against her orders? No, that wouldn't do. She'd order her out of the battle and back to Jyvus. She made a decision. "Ignore the call, Arseven. We can always blame it on the interference with the battle later."

The droid whistled dubiously.

"Look," she said as she put her fighter through a gut-wrenching corkscrew, "Master Atherton would just order me back to Jyvus, to protect a bunch of politicians that are safe unless the Separatist's forward movement is stopped. So from a certain point of view, I _am _protecting them, along with the rest of the Duro population."

The droid whistled again.

"Shut up, droid," Noona growled. "What do you know about sentient-relations anyway?"

She threw her fighter into a barrel roll, blue streaks of death lancing all around her.

She put her fighter in a lateral loop that took her back to one of the Dreadnaughts. The combat zone around the _Prominence _was a scene of fireworks in the night sky of Coruscant on a holiday: Green streaks of turbolasers and point-defense laser cannons streaked through what seemed like all available space, hitting anything even remotely-droid looking. Noona swung her fighter into the very edges of the Dreadnaughts combat zone, letting the _Prominence_'s gunners get a clear shot at the Vulture droid tailing her.

Most fighter pilots wouldn't be able to do this maneuver, flying into a ship's combat/engagement zone, without having fear of being blasted by friendly fire. But Noona was no ordinary fighter pilot. She was a Jedi.

She let the Force flow through her, knowing where a laser was going to be a moment before it got there and acted accordingly. In no time at all, the fighter tailing her was blasted into nothing, and she swept out of the capital ship's engagement zone.

"_All fighter, this is Jyvus City Command," _came Shyle's voice from the comm on an open freq. "_New objective. Two _Munificent-_class_ _frigates and one _Recusant-_class destroyer have broken off from the main fleet and are moving to engage our Dreadnaughts." _

Noona looked at the main fighting force of capital—most still having yet to move even from the spot their entry vector had brought them in on—and saw that indeed three of the frigates were speeding ahead to the main fighter fight.

"_Bombers are being launched from _Empirical. _Cover the bombers as they make their attack runs on the frigates. Keep all enemy fighters off of them. The Dreadnaughts will offer what assistance they can without getting to close to the frigates. We are sending in two more Assault Ships, so hold off the frigates and fighters for just a bit longer. That is your mission, carry it out. May the Force be with you all. Command out." _

Noona keyed her comm. "You heard him, Fang Squadron. Form up, we'll be taking in the first wave of bombers."

They continued their fight against the enemy fighters until the bombers got there. Then the squadron looped back around past the Dreadnaughts and formed up around the bombers.

The bomber group included five bombers total. There were eight fighters left in Fang Squadron, not including Noona. Two fighters a piece went to four of the bombers, while Noona covered the last one.

"_Fang Squadron, this is Green Squadron from the _Emancipator. _We'll take you in," _said a voice from the comm.

"Much appreciated, Green Lead," Noona responded in surprise.

She commed the bombers on their squadron frequency. "We're going in hot. Stay close to your escorts, and we'll make it through this okay."

She received acknowledgments and affirmatives from the group. "Here we go." Noona punched her drives, and the eighteen fighters (including Green Squadron's) and five bombers blasted through the enemy lines. Green Squadron did just as promised, not only were they escorting the escorts, but they also kept the enemy fighters off the bombers in tandem with Fang Squadron.

Noona's eyes tracked and incoming tri-fighter as it veered for a bomber. Though, that bomber was not under her escort, she got a missile lock on it and sent off a proton torpedo.

The missile left a blue efflux trail as it hurtled away from her fighter. It impacted with the tri-fighter in a flash of light.

From her right and above her, streaks of laser fire impacted on her shields. She swore. "See what you can do about that, Arseven." She twisted the fighter up in a corkscrew. Her targeting brackets fell on the fighter and she tightened up on the trigger. The fighter swerved and blasted on, leaving a blue efflux trail behind it. The fighter no longer became her problem and she tracked another fighter that was coming in on her bomber.

"How're those shields?" she asked her astromech.

He tootled a response, and the translation on her secondary screen reported that he could only establish partial shields.

"Great," she muttered. She formed up with her designated bomber once more, and then they were upon the Separatist frigates and destroyer.

It made Noona sick to see the _Recusant-_class open fire on Republic fighters. The _Recusant-_class design had originally been the Mon Calamari Shipyards' project, but some Quarren Separatists stole the designs and got them to the Commerce Guild, who began producing the destroyers to fight _against _the Republic instead of _for _it. Damn Quarren. Nothing good ever came from them.

The bombers—who'd up until this point split up and come in from different approach vectors to better dispel the chances they'd get blown up all at once—came in fast with guns blazing.

Noona and two other fighters chased off four Vulture droids trying to get in at the bombers. At this point, being within range of the Separatist warships' weapons, it was all about flying skill. Which the bombers definitely had.

Noona opened her comm. "Fang and Green Squadrons, break off. We are entering the destroyer's engagement zone. Repeat: break-off, entering the engagement zone."

Noona flew down behind the bombers anyway, though, just in case any droid was stupid enough to enter the capital ship's engagement zone.

The pilots weaved their bombers in and out of tight loops and evasive maneuvers, having been trained from the start of their careers to enter capital ships' combat zones and doge turbolaser and cannon fire effectively.

The lead bomber let loose the first two proton torpedoes. They impacted with the bridge shields in a shower of sparks, significantly weakening the shields.

The next volley collapsed the shields and destroyed the bridge.

The next batch took out the engines. The missiles after those shot ripped into the ship's midriff, along with the follow-ups. The lead bomber's second and last run broke the ship apart.

Noona's mouth dropped open, and not in a Mon Cal smile. They had destroyed the destroyer in less than a minute. They were effect, clean, and got results.

Noona liked them.

"Our run's done, boys," she said into the comm. "Peel back around, let's go home. The next wave of bombers will take care of the frigates."

_**A/N: Just wanted to let you guys know, this is officially the longest piece of fiction I've ever written, weighing in at a whopping forty-five pages, with much more to come. Stay tuned! **_


	14. Chapter 14

Defense Minister Onov Shyle slammed a fist into the holotable. "We just _barely _have enough forces to repel this invasion," he said to Mon Calamari Admiral Arikakon Baraka of the Republic Navy. "We need reinforcements!"

Jyvus City's comm specialist had managed to momentarily break through the communication block the Separatists had put over Duro and Jyvus. Shyle wasn't sure how long he had, and already, Baraka's image was fizzing and wavering.

"_We are sending what help we can spare, Defense Minister. The Jedi are leading two squadrons of V-19 Torrents as we speak. But the Separatists have also launched campaigns against Kuat and Nubia, which are the closest systems to offer support of the capital ship-class variety," _Baraka said apologetically.

"Those are just diversions to keep reinforcements away from Duro!" snarled Shyle.

"_Maybe. But that does not diminish the threat they pose in the slightest!" _What the admiral said next was lost as his image wavered and almost went out.

"What's going on?"Shyle shouted to the crew behind him.

"The Separatists have located the hole we've punched in their dampening blanket. They're trying to knit it back up," said a frenzied tech.

The admiral's image fizzed and winked out.

Shyle cursed viciously in his native tongue.

"Admiral, news from the front," said his aide.

Shyle whirled around. "More good news?" he said in anger and hopelessness.

"Yes sir, the bombing runs worked. The light destroyer and one of the frigates have been destroyed. The other is dead in the water."

Shyle smiled. "Wonderful!"

"But," continued his aide, "the frigates' and destroyer's mission proved to be a distraction from what the main body of the fleet was doing. The fleet has broken up into two heavy flotillas and are attempting to go _around _our Defense Platforms."

Shyle's nose-less face darkened. "So they won't have to go between the two and get pulverized from either side. Over my dead body. I want every fight-worthy craft out there now. Herd the Separatist fleet through the space between the two Golans. Or better yet, if we can flank the Seppies, we can trap them between our fleet and the Golans."

"The Separatists would never let us flank them, Minister," his aide said doubtfully.

"Well, let's worry about herding them between the Platforms. We'll go from there. Relay my orders to all our forces, we may win this yet."

Jez's eyes snapped open and looked right into the "T" visor of a clone trooper's helmet. He felt the muzzle of a blaster rifle in his gut.

"We're just trying to get out of here," he heard Tip plead with the clone.

"Trooper," said a Duros voice, "release that man. It goes against everything I believe in to turn down people in desperate need of help." The clone stepped back, allowing Jez a view of the group surrounding them.

Chief Representative Hoolidan Keggle stepped forward. "Are you all right, sir?"

"Excuse me, sir?" said another Duros in a Duro Security Force dress. "We can't do that. We're not sure where this man and his group's allegiances lie. We were just in a firefight with them for-"

Keggle whirled on him. "Do you question the order from the Chief Representative?"

Another Duro, an aide, spoke up to. "Sir, please! They could be with the Trehalt Allegiance!"

"Rasperton," Keggle reasoned, "all Allegiance members we've encountered so far have been Duros. What business would three humans and a Chadra-Fan have in Duros affairs? As for the firefight—we shot first. How was he and his companions to know that we're the Cabinet and trying to escape? They saw only clone troopers and ran to us for help. Instead, we opened fire on him. They defended themselves." Keggle said, putting some of those good old reasoning and persuading skills that politicians seemed to master to use.

Rasperton and the security man reluctantly let the matter be, glaring at Jez and his companions. Keggle turned back to Jez and helped him to his feet, almost giving the security forces cardiac arrest. "Are you alright?"the Duros asked genuinely.

Jez nodded, eyes wide, head pounding.. "_Thank_ _you, _Chief Keggle," Jez said.

Keggle turned to one of the troopers. "Dress that man's wound."

"But sir-"

"I won't go anywhere until his wound is patched up." Keggle stood in defiance to his aides and the security force's better judgment.

Jez, even in his weakened, head-ached state, immediately liked the Duro.

A few yards away, Misty and Hazel were clutching to each other, Tip slightly before them in as protective a pose as he could strike.

Tip skittered forward hesitantly to Jez as the clone medic bandaged his upper bicep.

"Very well," Keggle said when the medic stepped away from Jez. "Let's get moving."

Something was wrong.

Noona had just escorted the bombers to the edge of the fighting zone when the order came in.

"Fang Squadron, form up," she said into her comm. She glanced out her canopy and saw that indeed the Separatist fleet was breaking up into two elements, attempting to skirt and go around the Golan Platforms. Over her dead body.

The Dreadnaughts were staying where they were: about a dozen kilometers before the Platforms and in the middle of the Hell Path, what they'd deemed the vector they wanted the Separatists to take down the middle between the Golans where the Platforms' guns could chew them up.

But something was wrong.

Through her own instincts and the Force, she knew something was not right here.

Before she could continue her train of thought, though-

"_Commander Qolid," _crackled the voice of Captain Anders, "Victory _here. Form up on us, we're taking the leftmost battle group." _

Noona's mouth fell open in a Mon Cal smile. A _Victory-_class Star Destroyer had more than enough firepower to take out a few of the best in the Confederate Navy.

"_For up with the fighter groups from _Anvil _and _Coronet," he said, referring to the Assault Ships that made up the _Victory'_s small flotilla. It may have been a small group, but the combined might of the Assault Ships and Star Destroyer may have been efficient enough to halt the Separatist flotilla off and force it back into taking the Hell Path.

Noona glanced at her tactical readout, the feeling that something was out of place gnawing at her.

The _Victory, Anvil, _and _Coronet _were the only ships being sent to deal with the leftmost battle group, while the remaining three Assault Ship and the free Dreadnaught were going after the rightmost group. A change occurred, and the two Dreadnaughts that had been guarding the Hell Path split off, one moving for the latter Republic flotilla, and the other moving to the _Victory'_s flotilla.

All the capital ships in the Duros system were now tied up in this single push. If they lost even one, it could mean the end of the battle then and there.

But why had the Separatist fleet waited so long to make a move? Why wait, and let the Republic forces catch their breath and regroup?

"_Fang Lead," _said a voice from her speakers. _"Jyvus Fighter Control here. We're going to reinforce your squadron with three fighters. Standby." _

Noona glanced again at her tactical display. She saw three blue blips approaching on an intercept course with her squadron. "V-Wings," Noona said softly, impressed. V-Wings were relatively new to the war, but extremely deadly. Moving as fast as her Jedi Interceptor and packing as much punch as one of the ARCs, they were certainly a force to be reckoned with.

They streaked into formation with her squadron. "_V-Wings standing by for your order, Lead," _said a clone's voice from the speaker. Noona turned her comlink over to a different freq. "Deuce, you want to take the new arrivals?"

"_Certainly, Lead," _said the Duro.

She switched back to the V-Wings' frequency. "You'll be in Flight Two, boys, form up with Deuce. And thanks."

"_As ordered, Commander." _

She looked again at her tactical screen. All friendly capital ships were being devoted to this push, she repeated to herself.

The only reason she could discern for the Confederacy waiting so long was to _intentionally _let the Duro space forces catch their collective breath, and devote all their resources to attacking them.

Which was suicide on the Confederacy's part, practically. Everyone knew that in space combat, the element of surprise was a commander's most valued ally.

The Separatists had certainly garnered that element, but did not immediately strike with their heavy hitters. Sure, the fighters had done a good job of punching a hole through their outer defenses, but if the capital ships had reinforced them, Noona wasn't sure the defense forces could have stopped them from getting past the mid-defense line.

This group's purpose was to draw the Republic forces in, away from Jyvus. Which could only mean one thing.

There was another Separatist fleet coming to Duro.

"Arseven!" she snapped to her droid. "Call Minister Shyle!"

A few minutes later: "_Commander?" _

She laid out her train of thought to him, growing uneasier by the second and more certain that this was the course of action the Confederacy was going to take.

Silence on the other end as she finished her thought. "_Well, damn," _he swore viciously. "_You can't be sure of this, though." _

"I don't _have _to be sure about this, Defense Minister. The facts are right before our very eyes! Whether we decide to act on them or not is completely up to you!"

She knew they were stuck between a rock and a hard place. They couldn't very well pull capital ships back from the offense they were leading now: they needed those ships to repel the Separatist fleet that was _already _in Duro space. If they tried to pull one or two ships off the defense line and back to Jyvus, the Seppies may very well break through the weakened defense screen.

Then again, if there _was _another Confederacy fleet coming to Duro, one or two capital ships stationed at Jyvus wouldn't make a heck of a whole lot of difference anyway.

They were stuck. The best they could do was fortify their bases and ride out the Separatist attacks until help arrived. She said as much to Shyle.

"_Can't do, Commander. We have to at least _try _repel them,"_ he responded.

Noona sighed. "I'm not saying we shouldn't, Minister."

"_I'll consider our options and get in contact with your Master and the leaders dirt-side. I'll get back to you." _

Noona acknowledged him and signed off.

She only hoped they had that long.

_**A/N: Today's a good day for our nation. Osama Bin Laden is dead. Too bad all the pain and suffering he has caused couldn't have happened in a fictional world such as Star Wars. Keep the families of his victims in your thoughts and prayers. **_

_**And let's be glad we all have a world to escape to—Star Wars!—when the real world gets too crazy to deal with. **_

_**As always, may God—and the Force—be with us. **_

_**Please keep on reading and reviewing. Thanks so much. **_

_**-Lord Duro~ **_


	15. Chapter 15

The arrowhead that was the _Invisible Hand _show through hyperspace, a nek dog and its pack on the hunt for prey.

General Grievous tapped one finger against his thigh, the small metallic echo it created the only sound on the bridge_._

"Three hours out, General," a droid reported. Grievous glanced at a starmap of Duro and the surrounding systems.

"Drop us out of lightspeed," he ordered the helmsmen.

Since all of the bridge crew were droids, none of them questioned the order.

_Invisible Hand _dropped out of lightspeed at a point between stars. It hung there in space, alone, the cruiser not having any other way to communicate with the rest of the fleet when they were in lightspeed.

Grievous was doing calculations in his droid brain.

A Neimoidian—the Trade Federation liaison—walked through the open bridge doors in a huff. "General, why have we dropped out of hyperspace?" he said in his thick accent.

Grievous whirled on him and the Neimoidian flinched. Pathetic being.

"We are ensuring that the Republic cannot send reinforcements to the Duro system, Kav Haan," Grievous told him calmly, a stark contrast to his imposing visage.

Kav swallowed. "What do you intend?"

"We're going to strike Kuat."

"But the fleet-"

"Will exit hyperspace just outside the Duro system, as we had planned originally. We will catch up in time before the strike on Duro, do not worry, Merchant Haan."

Kav snarled, upper lip quivering. "How do you expect to attack one of the leading Republic shipyard planets with a lone cruiser?"

Grievous, who had still been doing the calculations in his head, turned to the helmsman. "Roll the ship onto our starboard side. Jump to lightspeed...Now."

_Invisible Hand _shot back into lightspeed, on a new course this time. Grievous's droid brain was flying through the calculations now. Factor in evasive maneuvers here, probable shield levels there, morale of the crew on Republic warships...

"General Grievous!" Kav Haan said loudly. "The Trade Federation will not stand for this!"

Grievous turned back to him and took two menacing steps forward. "Who," he intoned, "will stop me? _You? _Hah. Do not amuse me right not, Kav Haan, if I do not calculate this correctly, we will die."

Haan shut up, but a proverbial storm was gathering around his head.

Grievous leaned forward suddenly, over the helmsman droid. "Drop out of lightspeed. In three...two...one—_now."_

The _Invisible Hand _exited lightspeed like a scythe...right over two _Venator_-class Star Destroyers, stretching across the space above them. Two of the three _Munificent-_class frigates Grievous had sent to Kuat for the distraction remained about a klick away, trading powerful turbolaser fire with the Republic warships. Starfighters, both Confederacy and Republic, swarmed furiously all over, dogfighting and bomb-running.

The Star Destroyers didn't have to react as the _Invisible Hand _delivered a devastation broadside, all turbolaser batteries firing and overwhelming their ventral shields.

"Fire proton torpedoes and concussion missiles," he said. He saw on his tactical monitor missile after missile rip apart the Republic warships, who had only now started fighting back. But it was too late, they were dead and they knew it.

"Continue fire!"

"Assault Ships coming up on our flank," a droid at TacOps reported.

"Open fire with our belly guns, but concentrate on the Star Destroyers," Grievous replied.

But the Destroyers were out of the fight.

"Jump!" Grievous commanded.

The _Invisible Hand _jumped into lightspeed with a lurch.

It takes fourteen seconds upon exiting lightspeed to charge and raise shields.

It took the _Invisible Hand _fifteen to exit lightspeed, neutralize the Star Destroyers, and jump away again.


	16. Chapter 16

Aylee Atherton wearily rubbed at burning eyes. They stung because of exhaustion and high adrenaline. She would not be getting any sleep tonight.

Especially not with this new information. She wished she could get in contact with Noona, it had been nearly an hour since she'd ordered her through their Force-bond to contact her. She must be busy with the battle in space, Aylee decided. _Well, of course, _she silently reproached herself.

She did feel immensely proud of her Padawan for spotting something that should have been so obvious to the people on the ground.

Only herself, General Zed, Agent Valiant, and the communication specialists remained in the room, the others having to attend to other matters the impending invasion brought.

"I want to speak with Defense Minister Shyle," said General Zed to the ComOps man.

"There's a lot of interference," the ComOps specialist said, brow furrowed. "The Confederacy fleet has jammed our out-system transmissions by putting a blanketing signal, _and _nearly destroying all HoloNet relays. It appears they're trying to jam local, inner-system transmissions as well."

"That doesn't make sense," Valiant said, leaning over the holotable and looking across the room at the other man. "They'd be blocking their own communications."

The ComOps man shrugged helplessly. "Unless they use real-time EM beams...but then, we could too. I think they're just trying to annoy us."

"A tactic not as silly as it sounds," Aylee said. "Exasperation could indirectly cost us the battle unless we focus. Get a tightbeam to Shyle."

The ComOps man took a moment or two. "Okay, I've patched through. Tightbeaming EM waves seem to be working for the moment."

Shyle's image winked on. "_My stars, Master Jedi," _he said to her. "_My stars. If there truly is another fleet inbound..."_

She nodded somberly. "We cannot begin to repel an invasion of this magnitude."

"_Hell, we'll try. Long enough to let the population evacuate, at least. But there's only so much we can do..." _The Duro looked broken. Aylee's heart went out to him. As Defense Minister, all defensive and offensive forces Duro possessed were entirely his responsibility. That was proverbially a planet's weight on one person's shoulders.

"The best shot we've got is on the ground, at this point," Zed said. "We've got legions of troops, just itching for a fight. Let the Seps land on the ground, we'll give 'em a nice drop-kick back into their troop-transports."

Aylee snorted. "If it were only that easy. Defense Minister, what do you intend to do with our spaceside forces? Our tactical readout shows that you still intend to push back the advancing Separatist fleet into the Hell Path."

"_What other options do I have? We either fight them out there, or they engage us over Jyvus, perhaps killing innocents. And then, we also run the risk that the other Separatist fleet will arrive before our fleet pushes the one present through the Hell Path, in which case more innocents would die and-"_

He cut himself off, taking a calming breath. "_There are too many variables, Master Jedi. We're not even one-hundred percent sure another fleet is coming. I have to use the hard facts available to me, what I know for certain. And that's that we have to push the Sep fleet here already through the Hell Path. If we begin jumping at shadows, we may fall through an unseen hole," _He said, quoting the old Duro saying at the end.

Aylee chewed her lip. "Carry out the attack," she said.

Valiant and Zed turned to her. "_What?" _this from Valiant.

Aylee shot him a glance. "You heard me. It's like Shyle said, if we pull ships to Jyvus, the enemy fleet that's _already _here, we could lose valuable footing to them. We need to deal with the present threat first, _then _move on to variables and possibilities."

Valiant glowered at her while Zed shrugged and Shyle nodded. "Like I said," replied Zed, "the space battle won't decide much, it's just the means to an inevitability. This battle will be decided on the ground." He straightened. "If you'll excuse me, I should oversee our ground side forces. Minister Shyle, if you would ask the commander of the troops stationed on Jyvus to contact me..."

Shyle nodded and his image winked out.

Valiant shook his head and pulled up a datastream. "We have initiated large-scale evacuations in the following major cities: The three sister cities; Ranadaast, Manadaast, Tranadaast. Also, Trehalta, Malatosh, Gutrehen, Duro City, and the three orbital cities. We've ordered all surrounding towns and villages to make their way for these cities' spaceports. Those stubborn enough to remain are being removed by force." No one had a problem with the latter. Only a complete fool had reason to stay on a planet that was doomed to occupation.

"But should we really be diverting troops and valuable resources to evicting those stubborn enough to stay?" Aylee asked after thinking over it.

Yes, there were fools who would stay on a world doomed to occupation.

Was it wise to rescue someone so stubborn and release their potentially dangerous stupidity on the rest of the galaxy? Was it fair? Aylee chuckled at her thoughts. Of course, that was her "twisted sense of humor" talking, as Noona liked to put it.

But by her oath to the Jedi, Aylee was bound to help the innocent _and_ foolish, even if it went against what she wryly thought on the matter.

"Local police forces," Zed said with a wave of his hand. "They can take care of the idiots."

"As long as we're not wasting resources. What's the situation with Chief Keggle?"

Valiant glanced at his datapad. "According to Jyvus Security, they have located the Chief and are en route to a private launch bay. They're requesting orders on what to do after that."

"Flee the system," Valiant said gruffly, then chuckled lightly. "What else are they gonna do, come back down _here? _That'd be suicide. No, run with the rest of the planet now, come back with a fleet and retake Duro later."

Zed drew himself up, and Aylee could almost see the famous Duro Pride swelling within him. "Chief Keggle will _not _just _abandon_ Duro. He cares too much for this planet to just _run _when things get too hairy, unlike a few Republic starships I could name quite recently."

Valiant turned to Zed. "The Star Destroyer situation had _nothing _to do with the Trehalt Allegiance attacks. They were _ordered _to leave orbit by corrupt senators!"

Zed turned back to the holotable and the tactical display. "Think whatever you wish, Agent, but let it be known the the Duros people _did not _need the support of the Republic to repel this invasion."

Aylee's cheek twitched. "Most of the ships in orbit are _Republic _ships, General, _defending _your planet."

Zed turned a nasty smile on her. "And as I have already stated, Master Jedi, this battle will not be won in space, but on the ground."

_Of all the ungrateful..._Aylee thought. She caught herself. Was it arrogant of her to assume that all beings should be grateful for the help the Jedi and Republic extended to them? Prideful, even? She took a deep breath and decided to point out the flaws in his logic instead of initiating a debate on the Republic's generosity. "The battle may not be _won _in space, no, but it will certainly prevent loss of innocent life at Jyvus and the other orbital cities."

"Stupid inventions anyway," Zed sniffed.

Aylee stared at him in stark shock. "You are not serious. Why are you acting like a child? This crisis-"

"Uh."

Aylee's eyebrows rose as she turned around, looking to the man at TacOps who'd uttered the monosyllabic noise. "Something you'd like to add to the conversation, Lieutenant?" she asked him expectantly, still steaming from her argument with Zed, but grateful for the distraction.

"Uh. Ah, yes, Master. It uhm, appears that a _second _Confederate fleet has just dropped out of hyperspace at the fringes of the system."

The argument was dropped immediately. "Report!" She said, stunned.

_So soon? _

"Fleet consists of more than thirty capital ships," said the TacOps man. "They are engaging outlying system defenses."

"Get Defense Minister Shyle back on the line."

"I'll try. Lot of interference," this from ComOps. "Standby."

He tapped away at his desktop datapad, brow furrowed in concentration. "I'm getting nothing, ma'am. Tightbeaming is not working. We can't contact anyone off-planet."

Aylee swallowed hard and rested a hand that seemed to be shaking on its own on her lightsaber. "Then may the Force be with us all."

_**A/N: Oh my God. I'm a terrible FF writer. I haven't updated in a few months, I know. I'm terrible. But I wrote an entire novel in that time! Win for me? Please? I'll be posting like a madman to make up for my time away from this story. Thanks, guys!**_


End file.
